Why the Pokemon Go Mania May Be Settling, Game Loses 10 Million Daily Active Users

The Pokemon Go craze is finally reaching an equilibrium. The game had a stellar run while it lasted, but over the last few weeks Pokemon Go has seen a steady drop-off in daily active users (DAUs).

TAINAN, TAIWAN - AUGUST 08: A man reads a Pokemon Go article in the newspaper on August 7, 2016 in Tainan, Taiwan. 'Pokemon Go,' which has been a smash-hit across the globe was launched in Taiwan on 6th August. Since its global launch, the mobile game has

The Pokemon Go craze is finally reaching an equilibrium. The game had a stellar run while it lasted, but over the last few weeks Pokemon Go has seen a steady drop-off in daily active users (DAUs).

As of August 18th, Axiom Capital Management reports the app had a little over 30 million DAUs, down significantly from its July 19th peak of slightly under 45 million DAUs. At one point, this app had overtaken Twitter in the United States, but the popular game seems to be settling after the summer hype.

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Why Did Saudi Arabia Ban Pokémon Go?

Saudi clerics see Pokemon Go as anti-Islamic and full of forbidden symbols and ideas (like evolution!), so have renewed their 2001 fatwa on it.

You better put your plans for hunting Pikachu and doing gym battles on hold if you are in Saudi Arabia. Local clerics have banned Pokémon Go on account of anti-Islamic content. 

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What Is Pokémon Go and Why You Should Care

Nintendo has recently-released the Pokémon Go smartphone game has taken the U.S. by storm, ushering in a new age in gaming and augmented reality.

A Pokémon called Pikachu

To put it simply, Pokémon Go is a location-based augmented reality game for your smartphone, the first true hit of this genre. It was developed by Niantic, a company under Google's umbrella. Since it was released in the US a week ago, the game has become a cultural and social phenomenon, quickly going viral, rivaling such online stalwarts as Twitter in popularity.

What do you do in this game? You point your smartphone at the world around you and try to catch magical creatures called Pokémon (short for "pocket monster") that seem to appear on the screen. It's an amazing extension of the game space from the screen to the whole of your everyday experience.

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