'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite' Game Hits 400,000 Downloads on First Day, But 'Pokemon Go' Had 19 Times More

“Harry Potter: Wizards Unite” is a highly successful mobile game — but it’s no “Pokemon Go.”

“Harry Potter: Wizards Unite,” which is produced by Niantic Labs and WB Games Inc., hit No. 1 on the Apple App Store in its first day of release in the U.S. and the U.K. last Friday, racking up 400,000 downloads and $300,000 in its first 24 hours, according to Sensor Tower’s Store Intelligence platform.

That’s impressive, but less so when compared to the runaway success of Niantic’s own “Pokemon Go” three years ago. That mobile game, which also relied on location-based AR techonology, was installed nearly 19 times more — on approximately 7.5 million phones — after being released in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand on July 6, 2016, and it made approximately $2 million in its first day. It opened in the U.K. one full week later.

Also Read: Will 'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite' Be More Than a 'Pokemon Go' Redo?

Representatives for Niantic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The gulf is equally stark when you look at the first full weekend of both games. According to Sensor Tower, “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite” made an estimated $1.1 million in player spending behind 3 million downloads in its first three days. However, “Pokemon Go” generated $28 million in its first four days and had already been downloaded 24 million times.

“Pokemon Go” went on to gross $206 million and close to 173 million downloads in its first month alone, spawning memes, lawsuits and parodies galore in the process. Sensor Tracker projects that “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite” will gross more than $10 million in its opening month, and it’s yet to become available in two of its biggest markets, Japan and South Korea.

For an additional comparison, “Fortnite: Battle Royale” set a record for a single month when it grossed $318 million in May 2018.

Also Read: 'Pokemon Go': 16 Stars Chasing Pokemon, From Chrissy Teigen to Bryan Cranston (Photos)

According to Sensor Tower, while “Wizards Unite” is currently the top app in the app store this week, it has yet to reach the top 10 in revenue in any market, including the United States, where it ranks 28th. “Pokemon Go” got to the top spot in spending on its first day of release and stayed there for 74 consecutive days.

“Harry Potter: Wizards Unite,” like “Pokemon Go,” is another game that utilizes location-based technology and augmented reality (AR) in order to play. Players will walk around the real world in order to encounter magical creatures, and they can then interact with them using their camera phone that makes them appear as if they exist in a real space.

9 Stories That Show The Dark Side of 'Pokemon Go' (Photos)

"Pokemon Go" has brought kids and their parents together, brought a sales boost to many small businesses that suddenly became PokeStop locations and restored Pokemon to the mainstream cultural dominance it enjoyed during its heyday in the late 90s. But for every story of mass gatherings and unexpected new friendships formed, there's also been reports of gamers' Pokemon quests gone horribly wrong. Just remember to use caution when out and about collecting Pokemon.
Niantic
Shortly following the game's release, a 19-year-old in Riverton, Wyoming discovered a dead body while searching for water Pokemon along the Big Wind River. Other gamers have reported finding dead bodies while hunting for Pokemon off the beaten path.
ABC 10 Wyoming
Reports also surfaced of criminals using the game to find popular PokeStops with the aim of mugging unsuspecting gamers who pass by. In O'Fallon, Missouri, police arrested teenage boys who had robbed several "Pokemon Go" users. The suspects were charged with first degree armed robbery.

Missouri State Police
A similar robbery occurred on July 18, when a tourist from New Hampshire was hunting for Pokemon in Central Park and was held at gunpoint by two men. Police later tracked down the suspects using the victim's Find My iPhone app. Central Park has become a popular spot for New York "Pokemon Go" users, with large groups of gamers traveling together to find rare Pokemon.
In Ontario, Canada, a woman was arrested on assault charges after shooting a pellet gun from the roof of her apartment at a group of people playing the game.
Niantic
In Flagler County, Florida, a man fired gunshots at two teenagers who parked in front of his house after midnight when they discovered Pokemon on his street. The teenagers were not injured, though the gunshots left bullet marks on the vehicle and punctured one of the tires.
Niantic
"Pokemon Go" has inspired fans to go out and meet new people to hunt Pokemon with, but sometimes those meetups can take a nasty turn. In British Columbia, a 19-year-old woman met up with a 31-year-old man to play the game, only to end up calling the police after the man made sexual advances towards her.
PokeDates
On July 28, an Australian Pokemon trainer crashed his car into a school building in Melbourne after he lost control of the vehicle while attempting to catch a Pokemon. Fortunately, no one was injured in the crash.
Niantic
A comic book artist in San Jose, California was attacked by a man with a knife while playing the game, sustaining a severe wound that required fifteen stitches. The victim told NBC Bay Area that his attacker thought he was recording him with his phone and didn't believe him when he explained he was just trying to catch Pokemon. He says the attack did not reduce his passion for the game.
NBC Bay Area
A few days after the San Jose attack, a student from San Joaquin Delta College was shot and killed while playing "Pokemon Go" near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Police are still investigating the incident.
Creative Commons

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Have fun playing “Pokemon Go,” but make sure you stay safe while doing so

"Pokemon Go" has brought kids and their parents together, brought a sales boost to many small businesses that suddenly became PokeStop locations and restored Pokemon to the mainstream cultural dominance it enjoyed during its heyday in the late 90s. But for every story of mass gatherings and unexpected new friendships formed, there's also been reports of gamers' Pokemon quests gone horribly wrong. Just remember to use caution when out and about collecting Pokemon.

View In Gallery

9 Stories That Show The Dark Side of 'Pokemon Go' (Photos)

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