Pokémon GO gives a boost to the Nintendo 3DS.
The main contributors to Pokémon GO are the developer Niantic and The Pokémon Company, who represent the brand rights. Nevertheless, Nintendo also benefits from the “Augmented Reality” mobile game – this is evident, for example, in the sales of the Nintendo 3DS.
The “new” Pokémon fans
Due to the hype that Pokémon GO has generated, not only have old fans returned to the game. The Pokémon GO phenomenon has gone through all kinds of media and has generated a lot of attention. As a result, players have also encountered the Pokémon series, who previously had nothing to do with the game.
Those who were previously unfamiliar with the games or had never played them may have been encouraged by Pokémon GO to try the older games as well. This also applies to players who were already familiar with the series but got their enthusiasm for the game series back through Pokémon GO. Since the older Pokémon titles are not (officially) available for smartphones, this is where the connection to the Nintendo 3DS comes in. For Nintendo’s handheld, there are many more versions of Pokémon that offer a completely new gaming experience compared to Pokémon GO.
As TheVerge reports, the sales of the Nintendo 3DS and the corresponding games have increased significantly. According to information from the market research institute NPD Group, the 3DS was at the top of hardware sales in the USA in July. The Pokémon games from 2014, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, saw a sales increase of 80%. Pokémon X and Y from 2013 were also sold significantly more often – there was a 200% increase in sales for these games.
It is clear to Nintendo that the positive reaction to Pokémon GO has significantly increased interest in the core Pokémon games on Nintendo systems.
Did you also start playing other Pokémon titles again due to the Pokémon boom?
