I think it’s pretty fair to say that Pokemon GO (Free) has become incredibly popular in the few days it’s been available. Trying to avoid seeing something about the game is like trying to avoid air. The game’s popularity is, of course, already translating into more money for Nintendo and everyone else involved with the game; as a Guardian story points out, the day after the launch, Nintendo’s shares saw a 10% jump, which is quite the jump. What makes this jump even more impressive is how Nintendo is only indirectly involved with the game since the Pokemon franchise is owned by the Pokemon Company and the game is actually developed by Niantic. However, Nintendo owns 33% of the Pokemon Company and also owns a stake in Niantic, which explains why Pokemon GO‘s success is reflecting on Nintendo’s value.

Pokemon GO‘s popularity will definitely be taken by Nintendo as a sign that its decision to get a firmer foothold in mobile gaming was the right one and bodes well for more games coming to the platform. At the same time, I hope that the game’s popularity demonstrates to Nintendo and all companies involved in bringing Nintendo IPs to mobile the need for a more robust infrastructure able to sustain the weight of the millions of fans, so we don’t have a repeat of the current server debacle.

Yes, such technical issues probably won’t chase away many fans of Nintendo games, but I don’t think the company wants to be losing money because of server inefficiencies. Despite that, though, I imagine Nintendo executives are quite pleased at the moment, and that’s good news for us mobile gamers.

[via The Guardian]