Pokémon Go's unprecedented virality is explained by app trackers

With the release of Pokémon Go in more countries, an increasing number of statistics are available for providers of application store analytics. According to Sensor Tower, Pokémon Go has been downloaded over 30 million times worldwide since its release, and has generated $35 million (roughly Rs 235 crore) in revenue. It is barreling its way through the download charts, and is poised to soon unlock the 50 million downloads achievement. It was the fastest game to reach the 10 million downloads mark, and here is how long it took to do it compared to other games. https://twitter.com/SensorTower/status/755549995923890176 The amount of time trainers spend in the app hunting Pokémon is unprecedented. Gamers are spending more time in Pokémon Go than Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter or Instagram. https://twitter.com/SensorTower/status/753029393245696000 In fact, Pokémon Go is so popular, that it may even beat Google Maps in popularity, according to another application analytics platform that provides insights for developers and marketers about how their applications are performing on the stores. https://twitter.com/SurveyMonkey/status/753303135716868096   Compared to the average game, Pokémon Go players are continuing to play the game after the initial installation at unprecedented levels. There is usually a day by day drop in the interest and engagement, which is something not seen with this game. 7 out of 10 people who have tried Pokémon Go, return to it the next day. On average, this number is just 3 out of the 10. https://twitter.com/surveymonkey_i/status/753809228607787009 An unusual aspect of the virality of this game is that it does not depend on social media shares for promotion, something a game such as Candy Crush does aggressively. The game does not need to be plugged into social media, or gain access to your friend circles in social media networks for visibility, it’s success is driven by word of mouth. According to SurveyMonkey analysis, Pokémon Go earns twice the revenue per active install compared to other apps. Pokémon Go earns $0.25 (roughly Rs 16) in average revenue for every daily active user, and this is more than even Candy Crush, a game famous for its monetisation. If you like the charts, here is some more data science to understand the popularity of Pokémon Go.