Pokemon Go -The latest gaming sensation

New Delhi: Within less than a month of its launch, Nintendo's mobile game Pokemon GO took the internet, gaming and mobile world by storm.

Hundreds of game lovers flocked to try out the new Pokemon GO smartphone game, raising hopes that Nintendo’s long-awaited shift into mobile gaming will pay off in a big way. Even India could not remain isolated from facing its impact with thousands gaming addicts taking to Pokemon Go in an aggressive manner. It easily qualifies to be among the top most gaming apps in the year 2016.

What is Pokemon GO?

Pokemon Go is a game in which players search out and capture Pokemon characters and do battle with other Pokemon.

Players of the Pokemon GO can capture, battle, and train virtual creatures, called “Pokemon”, appearing on device screens and is very similar to that of the real world.

The free-to-play game makes use of GPS and the camera of compatible devices. However, it also offers in-app purchases for power-ups and extra items.

Players, known as "trainers," download the Pokemon Go game to their smartphones. To progress in the game, they must walk around to find and catch Pokemon and access specific locations called Pokestops - where Pokeballs and other useful items are collected.

Why it took the internet gaming and mobile world by storm?

The wildly popular mobile app, which is based on a 1990s Nintendo game, has created a global frenzy as players roam the real world looking for cartoon monsters.

Such was the craze of the game that in the United States, it saw the title shoot up to become the No. 1 free app in Apple Inc`s US iTunes store within a couple of days of its launch. In the US, by July 8 - two days after its release - it was installed on more than 5 percent of Android devices in the country.

What seems to have caught the fancy of gamers is perhaps the fact that the new game puts Pokemon in the real world by utilizing GPS location information and makes players chase down the virtual pocket monsters in their own vehicles.

The game is now on more Android phones than dating app Tinder and its rate of daily active users was neck and neck with social network Twitter. The game, during its peak days, was being played an average of 43 minutes a day, more time spent than on WhatsApp or Instagram.

Pokémon GO still collects more revenue than any other app in eight countries, including Australia, Great Britain, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Thailand. The game also ranks within the top five grossing apps in 38 countries, including the United States.

However, of late, Pokemon Go, this year’s biggest gaming franchise now seems to be failing to catch them all. According to Bloomberg reports, Pokemon Go is losing both in terms of daily users and engagement. A fresh report quotes analysts from Sensor Tower, Apptopia, and Survey Monkey, all of which claim that the location-based augmented reality game is currently losing daily downloads, active users and in-app time.