Niantic Labs, the developer behind the hit augmented reality game Pokémon Go, today hinted to the Financial Times that it plans to allow retailers and other companies to introduce sponsored locations in the future as a way to monetize the app.
Real world locations in Pokémon Go serve as "Pokéstops" for collecting in-game items and power-ups including "Pokéballs" or as "gyms" for battling the pokémon of other players. Right now, Pokéstops and gyms are largely located at notable landmarks like parks and statues, but may expand to encompass retailer-sponsored locations.
Niantic Labs' previous app, Ingress, featured similar branded portals purchased by retailers like Jamba Juice and Zipcar. Advertisers who purchased portals through Niantic Labs paid on a "cost per visit" basis, and a similar tactic could be used in Pokémon Go.
John Hanke, chief executive of Niantic, which developed Pokémon Go in partnership with the Japanese games group, said "sponsored locations" would provide a new revenue stream, in addition to in-app purchases of power-ups and virtual items. [...]
Alongside in-app payments, "there is a second component to our business model at Niantic, which is this concept of sponsored locations", Mr Hanke said, where companies "pay us to be locations within the virtual game board -- the premise being that it is an inducement that drives foot traffic".
Niantic CEO John Hanke declined to tell Financial Times about any sponsorship deals already in the works for Pokémon Go, but code within the app discovered this morning suggests a deal may have been established with McDonald's. McDonald's imagery is included in the app and the McDonald's name is listed in the app's code.
Pokémon Go has become a global phenomenon since its launch last week, earning an estimated $1.6 million in daily revenue with more than 7.5 million downloads in the United States. The app received its first update yesterday, fixing a number of bugs and changing Google permissions that sparked privacy concerns.
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect.
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Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect.
The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design.
It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information.
Relocated Charging Port
While the Magic Mouse switched from...
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent.
A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things.
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Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance.
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Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out.
That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook.
Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Apple's next-generation iPad Pro models with the M5 chip will "launch this year," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new iPad Pro models have progressed to an "advanced testing" stage, and he expects mass production of the devices to begin in the second half of this year. If that timeframe is met, the new iPad Pro models could launch...
