Pokemon GO has already captivated millions of players worldwide despite only being available in select regions, but can Pokemon GO positively impact the sales of Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon for the Nintendo 3DS?
You can’t navigate the internet without being reminded of Pokemon GO in some way or another, what with the sudden explosion in popularity since its release in July. Spotify has seen rampant growth with Pokemon-themed music searches, and nearly every Pokemon related application on the mobile marketplaces have seen incredible growth. Unofficial apps like Pokedex for Pokemon GO and several Pokemon Maps applications have grown in the Canadian iOS App Store, marking a whole new revolution in mobile gaming.
Pokemon is one of the lasting franchises which started in the mid 90’s. Since the original release of Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue, the popularity of the game has grown immensely, reaching different generations of people. The release of Pokemon GO has re-introduced the Pokemon brand for millions of fans, both old and new. The numbers are already showing (As reported here), and the recent success with Pokemon’s mobile addition can help propel the franchise’s next main titles. With the world’s vision now set to “Catch em’ All,” it’s possible we can see entirely new records shattered with the release of Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon.
This November, Nintendo will be looking to capture and dominate the holiday season with the recently announced Nintendo Entertainment System and of course, their newest Pokemon games. While Pokemon GO will accelerate the sales of Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 2DS Hardware sales will also be on the rise this holiday season. In the past, hardware sales have always gone up with the release of a new Pokemon title, and this year shouldn’t be much different. While the numbers aren’t around at this given time, I am positive that the 3DS has already seen an increase in popularity since Pokemon GO‘s launch, with fans feeling nostalgic for the older Pokemon games.
If Nintendo were to capitalize on the success of Pokemon GO, they would benefit from including Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon in a cross-promotion. Reward your Pokemon GO players with in-game rewards for purchasing the Nintendo 3DS titles. Give your loyal customers in-game currency or event Pokemon for Pokemon GO. Doing so would not only help with software sales but could make the push for Nintendo 3DS system sales as well.
Nintendo’s marketing team has been kept busy throughout the year, starting with the reveal of the Pokemon 20th Anniversary. Following the anniversary announcement, Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon were officially announced and subtle hints regarding the game’s details started dropping. E3 2016 marked an important event for Pokemon fans, despite The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild stealing the show as Nintendo’s only playable demo. Last month, we were shown a small sample at what to expect in terms of gameplay and over the last few weeks, some exciting reveals of new Pokemon.
Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon are scheduled to launch exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS on November 18th, 2016. Pokemon GO is currently available for iOS and Android devices in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
