Cashing in on the Pokemon Go craze

As the Pokemon Go craze sweeps Vietnam, both entrepreneurs and established companies are noticing - Photo: Le Toan

Since the game, developed by Japan’s leading consumer electronics and software company Nintendo and Niantic Labs, first came onto the market in late July, Nintendo Limited has lined its pockets with more than $200 million in revenue.

After the Vietnamese launch on August 6, the game quickly swept the nation and created a craze amongst players hunting for virtual Pokemon ‘creatures’, and provided many opportunities for businesses capable of tapping into the trend.

Nguyen Ngoc Anh, the owner of a shop selling mobile devices on Hanoi’s To Hieu Street said that many young people had visited nearby Nghia Do Park to hunt Pokemon last weekend.

“Using 3G or Wifi is essential in this game. Smartphone batteries can quickly run out when playing the game for prolonged periods of time. Many youngsters called on my shop for charging their batteries or buying extra ones,” said Anh, adding that he is considering stocking massive 50,000mAh solar battery chargers for sale or supplying Wifi at Nghia Do Park in the future.

Some sidewalk shops in nearby areas have quickly opened new stalls in public places to sell bread or light food to ‘hunters’.

Using 3G is essential when playing Pokemon Go, providing enormous opportunities for telecom providers to exploit the service.

On August 10, sales agents for MobiFone - Vietnam’s second largest telecom provider, have offered several 3G packages tailored towards the game.

MobiFone offers M70 (7G) and M90 (9G) 3G packages for smartphone users, whereas its 3G Fast Connect package is ideal for playing Pokemon Go on iPads or tablets.

Making use of the occasion, agents at VinaPhone, one of the top three players in Vietnam’s telecom market with Viettel and MobiFone, have increased marketing for the company’s 3G simcard one-year package, with a 4Gb allowance each month for playing Pokemon Go at VND490,000 ($22.3)/year.

Meanwhile, the sale of items related to Pokemon Go has been strong on social networking sites.

Nguyen Thi Bich Lien, a shop owner in Hanoi’s My Dinh area who sells imported items online, said that she has ordered a batch of Pokemon products for test sale.

“I have placed an order with a friend who lives in Japan, the home of Pokemon. The items all relate to Pokemon such as watches, Poke balls, rings, bracelets, clothes, small statues, and the like. We hope they will sell well, many young people have ordered from me,” Lien said.

The launch of Pokemon Go in Vietnam has not been completely positive however, as the augmented reality game has already caused concern and real danger.

Pokemon ‘hunters’ could cause traffic accidents and congestion, or might be enticed to dangerous places while hunting for new creatures, which pop up on their mobile phones as they move in the real world.

Also, cyber hacking and personal information theft relating to the game is causing huge concern for the public.

Many experts have warned that because of the data and images collected via the Global Positioning System (GPS), camera and microphone integrated in a mobile phone, which are required for the game, it might be used as dangerous spy software. It is a reason many countries have raised concerns about security if the collected information is used for negative purposes. Some countries, including Iran, have already banned the game.