Sales Data Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket skyrockets to $200m in first month

[WonderLuigi]

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket skyrockets to $200m in first month

The Pokémon Company and DENA's mobile sensation Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has hit $208 million in gross revenue across the App Store and Google Play.

www.pocketgamer.biz

Pocket will soon become the second most successful Pokemon mobile game on its second month on the market, only being below the titan that is Pokemon Go.

Seems like the biggest spending event so far was the Blaine one, which is funny because the general sentiment was that it was a very whack event.

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket skyrockets to $200m in first month

The collectible card game is already the third most successful Pokémon title on mobile

The Pokémon Company and DeNA's mobile sensation Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has hit $208 million in gross revenue across the App Store and Google Play in its first month since global launch, according to AppMagic estimates.

The collectible card game hit $100m in just 17 days and has now doubled those earnings, reaching its latest milestone on November 29th.

Flaming hot revenue

The title averaged $6.5m in daily player spending over its first month. Its best single day so far was $8.4m on November 22nd, while its release date of October 30th saw the lowest level of player spending at $2.7m.

Pocket’s most lucrative day coincided with the start of the Fire Pokémon Mass Outbreak event on November 22nd, designed to incentivise more log-ins throughout the day to claim free, guaranteed Fire-type cards.

With fan favourite Charizard one of Pocket’s three key faces at launch - alongside Pikachu and Mewtwo - Fire-type decks are currently among the most powerful in-game.


But the randomised nature of Pocket’s pack openings has meant not every player could build a deck of this type - it was largely up to chance as to which cards they obtained.

By giving away cards that make Fire-type decks that much more accessible, players’ interest in spending evidently surged with daily revenue boosting by 20% at the start of the event. Among the pools of Fire-type cards were Kanto classics like Ninetales and Rapidash.

A blockbuster month

Globally, Pocket’s player spending increased week-on-week until week three, its most lucrative thus far with $51.1 million generated over the seven days commencing November 13th.

Week four marked the game’s first decline, down 3% to $49.7 million, despite seeing Pocket’s best single day for evenue.


As for where Pocket has been making most of its revenue, Japan has held a stable lead since global launch. Players in the country have contributed $90.1m in lifetime player spending to date, or 42% of the total sum - the same percentage as of Pocket’s first $100m.

The US, meanwhile, has slipped marginally down to 27% of total spending since the first $100m, but maintains its position as the collectible card game’s second-biggest market with players spending $58.2m. Taiwan currently ranks third at $9 million in player spending, or 4% of total revenue.

Pocket’s first month has already landed it as the bronze medallist among all Pokémon titles on mobile, overtaking 2023 sleeper hit Pokémon Sleep and Tencent’s 2021 MOBA Pokémon Unite in gross lifetime revenue.

The only titles still ahead are Pokémon Masters EX and the as-yet-untouchable Pokémon Go.

 

[Revolsin]

im seeing a lot of my old friends coming up and talking about it, realizing in hindsight just how many pokemon fans i really knew

 

[JazzyFuture]

I think we may need to kill the entire mobile game market to save people from gambling addictions.

 

[PuppyPrincex]

predatory gambling should be illegal

 

[JorgenRaft]

We will get literally everything Pokemon related outside of access to the old mainline games.

 

[karmitt]

several of my colleagues also picked it up. as far as I know nobody is paying money, but it’s probably not far off for at least one of them

 

[WonderLuigi]

several of my colleagues also picked it up. as far as I know nobody is paying money, but it’s probably not far off for at least one of them

I'm seeing many people paying more than 500 dollars on reddit. These big spenders carry the f2p aspect. Time will tell if the balance will shift completely to dry pockets from them and then ruin the game for everyone (like Masters did)

 

[komicer]

So I guess the P in Pokemon stands for Profits.

 

[JazzyFuture]

I'm seeing many people paying more than 500 dollars on reddit. These big spenders carry the f2p aspect. Time will tell if the balance will shift completely to dry pockets from them and then ruin the game for everyone (like Masters did)

Whales are the entire lifeblood of all of mobile gaming because it's split between people who can't be exploited by predatory practices and people who fall down a hill of getting exploited. It's crazy how far that industry has fallen from one time purchases of like 2-10 bucks to just absolute shit in over a decade. It's like the most transparent example of companies figuring out the limit of what you can squeeze out of people, like adjusting the price for visitors using the toilets in Roller Coaster Tycoon but for real people.
Apple Arcade exists basically entirely so Apple can clean up the reputation of mobile gaming, but every time a game is announced as Apple Arcade exclusive I just see people get mad that they can't play it.

 

[Aquamarine]

I'm glad that The Pokemon Company has another success on their hands! I like seeing the Pokemon IP do well in general. That said I'm not going anywhere near Pocket. I've never been a fan of gacha / gambling elements in games and how they hook you in psychologically, and I won't engage with any game that features them on principle.

With real cards there are physical boundaries to overcome (you can only buy so many packs of cards at once). With this app the only limit is your bank account . Sure you can technically collect every card without spending money, but it would take a whopping 437 days of play time on average: https://www.thegamer.com/pokemon-tcg-pocket-fan-figures-out-how-long-to-collect-every-card/ This heavily incentivizes gacha monetization.

 

[Revolsin]

Whales are the entire lifeblood of all of mobile gaming because it's split between people who can't be exploited by predatory practices and people who fall down a hill of getting exploited. It's crazy how far that industry has fallen from one time purchases of like 2-10 bucks to just absolute shit in over a decade. It's like the most transparent example of companies figuring out the limit of what you can squeeze out of people, like adjusting the price for visitors using the toilets in Roller Coaster Tycoon but for real people.
Apple Arcade exists basically entirely so Apple can clean up the reputation of mobile gaming, but every time a game is announced as Apple Arcade exclusive I just see people get mad that they can't play it.

give them credit they have put in some limitations of how much gold you can use

 

[crepuscule]

give them credit they have put in some limitations of how much gold you can use

Nah, the limit is 720 gold per day. It costs £79.99 (more than a full price AAA game) to buy 500 gold. So the limit is so high it may as well not exist.

It protects millionaires from wiping themselves out solely on a Pokémon card game but it certainly doesn't prevent normal people doing serious financial harm to themselves.

 

[Zemya]

I've set myself to not spend more than 10 euro lifetime on this, it's digital cards after all.

But the app has potential, I'm drooling thinking of a immersive Arceus card, N with Reshiram, Kyogre/Groudon/Rayquaza etc.

 

[Puikko]

I'm struggling to figure out what exactly people are spending the money on. I have 200/226 of the cards and haven't spent a dime, activated the two week premium trial or spent any shop tokens (I have like 400) on extra pulls.

 

[WonderLuigi]

I'm struggling to figure out what exactly people are spending the money on. I have 200/226 of the cards and haven't spent a dime, activated the two week premium trial or spent any shop tokens (I have like 400) on extra pulls.

FOMO. People want the cards asap or they want a very specific card for a very specific deck asap. Or they want multiple of the same rare... Or a lot of disposable income etc etc. It's definitely a very addictive game with a lot of gambling tactics. I've been addicted to gambling before and I can see the tropes by a mile

 

[Danny]

The mobile market is an interesting market, Nintendo tried to translate their console business to the mobile space with Super Mario Run and it didn't go well at all, it seems that the mobile market will continue to be a market where you can only gain success with gambling tactics, and it may never change.

 

[neil]

I've been playing it and my wife has played it way more than me. We both did the free trial but haven't spent any real money. You can get plenty out of the game if you enjoy battling and are patient enough to open a couple of packs a day. Sad for people who are spending a lot on this.

 

[Tentacle-tropes]

The mobile market is an interesting market, Nintendo tried to translate their console business to the mobile space with Super Mario Run and it didn't go well at all, it seems that the mobile market will continue to be a market where you can only gain success with gambling tactics, and it may never change.

The business model is way too entrenched to noticeably change. If Nintendo wanted SMR’s business model to succeed, the game would’ve needed to be generationally great. And that only would’ve carved out a market for themselves with no guarantees of success for their next title.

 

[N 2 Deep]

One day I will get my full art Erika card. Until then I hope I do not contribute to this massive revenue anymore than I already have

I did pull Sabrina full art tho which was nice, first character full art

 

[Revolsin]

One day I will get my full art Erika card. Until then I hope I do not contribute to this massive revenue anymore than I already have

I did pull Sabrina full art tho which was nice, first character full art

they're so oddly rare it's just weird. i hear less about people having those than crowns

 

[DoctorPlayer MD]

Well, I accidentally paid for the first month premium ticket so I contributed to that. Not anymore, though

 

[Revolsin]

also i didn't know what these numbers actually meant until i heard it's outgrossed both Pokemon Sleep and Pokemon Unite's lifetimes.

now that's fucking insane

though an unfortunate implication of what money model works. Unite is primarily pay for aesthetics while this is a proper pay to win

 

[ProteusRidley]

crazy to me. I don't see a point in spending money in this game. I did the 2 week free Premium thing, and it didn't seem worth it.

 

[lemonney]

This game is gross.

 

[LoboRundas]

Destroy the whole gacha market, nothing redeemable there. This predatory monetization is unacceptable.

 

[BlackthornOrion]

Meanwhile I've not spent a cent and been enjoying it. Mobile/f2p "whales" are something I don't think I'll ever really understand

 

[WonderLuigi]

Meanwhile I've not spent a cent and been enjoying it. Mobile/f2p "whales" are something I don't think I'll ever really understand

I spent a lot of money on Dragalia Lost and I had to force myself to uninstall it. It really messes up your brain. They know the psychology behind it and it's disgusting

 

[Revolsin]

I spent a lot of money on Dragalia Lost and I had to force myself to uninstall it. It really messes up your brain. They know the psychology behind it and it's disgusting

i was so close to spending on gold for a wonder pick. i'm like "ah this is cheap enough, i can do it just once for this one pick and we can call it"

and then i just registered "hmmmm man if i actually get this pick after i get the gold thats gonna like unlock the part of my brain that thinks spending is linked with dopamine"

gambling is fucking scary man

 

[Heruderu]

I’m more surprised by how low Unite has performed.

 

[SphereSeeker]

havent spent a dime yet lol.

 

[Lord Azrael]

I won't deny that the monetization tactics are there (for example: your wonder pick is actually predetermined, and they only do the shuffle, selection and reveal process to make you feel bad) but I think the game has been very generous to f2p players so far. Feels like people are expecting to pull 2+ star cards every other pack. Reminder that the rare cards are only cosmetic. Meanwhile worldwide launch has been here for just over a month and tons of f2p players are rocking several meta decks and near complete collections. There's also the fan-made no ex format, which is extremely easy to build decks for. I'm sure the gulf between f2p and p2p players will get worse in the future, but for now there's pretty much no difference. Perhaps a conscious early retention tactic though, who's to say

 

[Hocot8]

I've spent a little money. I don't regret a single dollar that I've spent because I haven't used all of the gold I got.

 

[WonderLuigi]

I won't deny that the monetization tactics are there (for example: your wonder pick is actually predetermined, and they only do the shuffle, selection and reveal process to make you feel bad) but I think the game has been very generous to f2p players so far. Feels like people are expecting to pull 2+ star cards every other pack. Reminder that the rare cards are only cosmetic. Meanwhile worldwide launch has been here for just over a month and tons of f2p players are rocking several meta decks and near complete collections. There's also the fan-made no ex format, which is extremely easy to build decks for. I'm sure the gulf between f2p and p2p players will get worse in the future, but for now there's pretty much no difference. Perhaps a conscious early retention tactic though, who's to say

I'll also say that the cosmetic 1* up just raise the chances of getting these cards so they're actually less rare than 3* cards for example.

But I don't expect out fun to last for long. Very skeptical when it comes to DeNA. They found their gold mine here.

 

[Sheldon]

The comparison to other Pokemon mobile apps is less interesting, because Pokemon spin-offs, mobile or otherwise, tend to not be as successful as you'd think given the power of the franchise.

My first yard sticks were Hearthstone and Marvel Snap, and, oh my lord Arceus, is Pocket rocking past those metrics...

 

[Revolsin]

pokemon go would be the primary competition on the top-end, which according to what i can see made about 260 mill in the same timeframe

pretty absurd given what a phenomena that was

 

[franzen23]

The comparison to other Pokemon mobile apps is less interesting, because Pokemon spin-offs, mobile or otherwise, tend to not be as successful as you'd think given the power of the franchise.

My first yard sticks were Hearthstone and Marvel Snap, and, oh my lord Arceus, is Pocket rocking past those metrics...

Yeah, although Pokemon Unite had potential that they squandered by making it Switch/mobile only. Could've been bigger if it hit PC, where the MOBA audience is.
Kinda insane how well this is doing though, will be interesting to see if it holds up throughout the years.

 

[Revolsin]

Yeah, although Pokemon Unite had potential that they squandered by making it Switch/mobile only. Could've been bigger if it hit PC, where the MOBA audience is.
Kinda insane how well this is doing though, will be interesting to see if it holds up throughout the years.

it just needs some love on the battle end for that. the potential is massive and the battle system is absurdly fun, it's just barebones at the moment. which is crazy cause it's by far the most consistent time you can sink into it by choice cause after your pack and pick is done you're kind of out of reasons to keep playing other than battling.

you're given pretty minimal incentive to battle. i do cause i find it super fun to try out new combos and decks and all, but a lot of my friends havent gotten into the battle scene nearly as much with there being no rank system or different modes to fight in and all that.

 

[SphereSeeker]

I’m more surprised by how low Unite has performed.

I would say it has balance issues.

back to tcg pocket I'm really not sure what people are spending cash on. I've opened packs every day and started my 2 week trial of premium and im missing like 36 cards out of the genetic apex set, and a couple full art cards. completed all the solo battles and events. Think it def needs more depth on the battling side which can come with more support/trainer cards.

 

[Keon]

The comparison to other Pokemon mobile apps is less interesting, because Pokemon spin-offs, mobile or otherwise, tend to not be as successful as you'd think given the power of the franchise.

My first yard sticks were Hearthstone and Marvel Snap, and, oh my lord Arceus, is Pocket rocking past those metrics...

Marvel Snap's mobile-only gross revenue comparison:

Launch Year: $173 million
Second Year: $102.9 million

So TCG Pocket has blown past Snap's entire first year on mobile in less than 30 days.

----

I agree that there isn't much to spend money on so far, so I expect upcoming pack drops to really impact the revenue.

 

[VintoWin]

I'm guessing people mainly just play this to collect cards because the battles feel gutted? 3 points to win and small decks (also, only singular elements?). Not sure how they will really be able to iterate on the depth with future expansions in any meaningful way.

(On Pokemon Unite) Remember that Pokemon GO and TCG pocket are "games" that literally anyone could "play." Uber casual. Just collect. Unite is an actual videogame, less engagement is to be expected IMO.

 

[Lord Azrael]

(also, only singular elements?)

Are you referring to the energy types per deck? If so then no, you can put more than one element in a deck

In general to your point, the game actually has a lot more depth than it seems on the surface. When you're starting out and your deck is bad, it's basically just luck of the draw, but when you amass enough cards to build something close to optimal, there's a ton of interesting decision making and optimizations

 

[Revolsin]

I'm guessing people mainly just play this to collect cards because the battles feel gutted? 3 points to win and small decks (also, only singular elements?). Not sure how they will really be able to iterate on the depth with future expansions in any meaningful way.

(On Pokemon Unite) Remember that Pokemon GO and TCG pocket are "games" that literally anyone could "play." Uber casual. Just collect. Unite is an actual videogame, less engagement is to be expected IMO.

oh hell no, the battle system is absurdly fun. it's most comparable to Marvel Snap. fucking assloads of options and decks and crazy cool ideas and concepts to try, i have more than a dozen unique successful decks even with just the base card roster. it's just a far faster TCG.

the only gutted part is everything around the battle system at least currently. which is that there's little external reward incentive with no ranking system or other daily rewards etc linked to it. the event recently was a good start, and there's more coming, so it's a very fixable problem as the core of the battle system is extremely good.

 

[VintoWin]

Eh 6 point games were better. And I'm someone who likes like Legends of Runeterra and Magic: the Gathering, so yeah. I do understand that Pokémon is supposed to be more approachable. The whole element/weakness system feels like something you can't really have much control over either, that's how it always was though I guess. I'm guessing metas develop around building up something that can 1 shot comfortably so elemental weaknesses don't matter or something.

 

[Revolsin]

6 point games would actually be pretty easy to implement and i'd like to see that as an event or future battle style. would really start to majorly emphasize the difference between ex mon squads and regular squads on point gain, i.e needing to kill 3 exs vs 6 regular mons

 

[Wockio]

Sounds like a massive amount of money but that's like if a Switch game sold 4 million copies in a month. It's big, but it's happened before.

 

[Phoenom]

Enjoying the hell out of the game but warned my friend to stay away from it; it's far too easy to fall into that 'Just a quid here, oh another quid won't hurt' pitfall.
Thankfully not affected myself though, won't use a single penny on it. Been playing YuGiOh master duel since it released and haven't used any cash there either!

 

[Ookami-kun]

Destroy the whole gacha market, nothing redeemable there. This predatory monetization is unacceptable.

I'll be the devil's advocate.

Gachas that target niche markets (see: gay-targeted gachas) provide job opportunities for artists of that genre. If you know your gay (especially bara) gachas, you play the game of "guess the artist". Helps that the expected audience of these niche gachas have the "you know what you're getting into" mindset as opposed to mainstream gachas.

 

[beaglor]

It's good that people are coming down hard on gacha shit, but bad that people are rationalising the CCG it is based on as somehow fine when it's the exact same type of stuff and always was. The MTG model has always been gross, and most especially when it targeted children as in the case of the Pokemon CCG/Yu-Gi-Oh.

 

[Revolsin]

It's good that people are coming down hard on gacha shit, but bad that people are rationalising the CCG it is based on as somehow fine when it's the exact same type of stuff and always was. The MTG model has always been gross, and most especially when it targeted children as in the case of the Pokemon CCG/Yu-Gi-Oh.

you're just innate gonna spend drastically more on real tcg that shit is expensive as fuck

 

[JazzyFuture]

It's good that people are coming down hard on gacha shit, but bad that people are rationalising the CCG it is based on as somehow fine when it's the exact same type of stuff and always was. The MTG model has always been gross, and most especially when it targeted children as in the case of the Pokemon CCG/Yu-Gi-Oh.

At least then you have something instead of it being yanked away from you if it ever goes EoS. But yeah, TCGs in general are also predatory, I briefly fell into it myself a couple years back and is why I'm aware of this shit being bad now.