Pokemon Go captures 55M mobile users in first month - CNET

Pokemon Go got really big, really fast.

Want proof? Just ask ComScore. The researcher reported this week that Pokemon Go reached 55 million mobile users in the US this July, during the first full month the mobile game was available. Thanks to that huge audience, the augmented-reality game ranked 13th among all mobile apps in the country, beating out social media stars Snapchat and Pinterest. Facebook was No. 1 on the list.

Additionally, engagement was particularly high, with the Pokemon Go ranking fourth in total time spent with the app, behind only Facebook, Pandora and YouTube.

"For as long as ComScore has been measuring digital audiences, there really isn't even a remotely comparable instance of a website or app capturing such a large audience in such a short period of time," ComScore's Adam Lella said in a blog post.

Throughout that first month and more, it was hard to go anywhere without spotting gaggles of people staring at their phone screens in hopes of finding and capturing Pokemon characters. For all the fun and games, though, there were downsides, from heavy battery drain and data usage charges to robberies and car accidents.

These days, things may not be going all that well for the game. Investment adviser Axiom Capital Management said this week that the number of daily active users, downloads, engagement and time spent on the app each day are off their highs from just a month a go and are showing signs of decline.