Nintendo's stocks have surged on Friday as fans clamor to download their augmented reality game. "Pokémon GO" was released on some countries earlier this week.
According to Entrepreneur, "Pokémon GO" was only released on Wednesday in the United States. The title has since become the number one free app in Apple's iTunes store.
It was previously reported that "Pokémon GO" is already available on Android and iOS for Australia, New Zealand and Japan as well. The app needs about 60 MB of space for Android users and 100 MB for iOS.
The Google Play Store stated that the "Pokémon GO" app requires Android version 4.4. Apple's App Store noted that iOS 8.0 or later is needed for the game.
"Pokémon GO" is free to download but offers in-game purchases ranging from $0.99 to $99.99 per item. As of launch, only the first generation of 151 Pokémon is available. The Pokémon Company did admit to plans of releasing additional generations in the future.
"It has more [monetization] than we expected; as users build their Pokémon inventory, spending money becomes needed to store, train, hatch and battle," Macquarie Securities told clients. It was also noted that purchases in Australia were not generated by big spenders but by its large number of users.
Venture Beat reported that Nintendo's stock price went up by 9 percent in the Tokyo Stock Exchange following "Pokémon GO's" release. The publication added that the surge was not surprising given the series' popularity.
What's interesting, though, was the fact that the game is created by The Pokémon Company International. Nintendo only owns a third of the company in partnership with Pokémon developers Creature Inc. and Game Freak.
"Pokémon GO's" success would also help Nintendo's upcoming title "Pokémon Sun and Moon," which is expected to be released on 3DS this fall, as well as the highly-anticipated Nintendo NX.
Reuters added that the surge in Nintendo's stock price has placed the company at its highest valuation at $23 billion. The company is expecting its mobile gaming to help boost its annual operating profit by a third to 45 billion yen ($450 million).
