Pokémon Go has begun selling its in-game PokéCoin currency cheaper online via a web store in certain countries.
It’s the first time you’ve been able to buy PokéCoins outside of the Pokémon Go app itself.
This method of acquiring PokéCoins also seemingly circumvents the 33 percent cut typically taken by app store owners Apple and Google – a thorny subject which previously got Fortnite in hot water.
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So far, there’s no link from within Pokémon Go to this new webstore and no method of purchasing directly from the webstore without leaving the app – which is what got Fortnite kicked off both Apple’s App Store and the Android Google Play. There’s no suggestion Pokémon Go’s developer Niantic wants a rematch of how that played out.
But it remains a surprising move by Pokémon Go – by definition a game that can only be played on mobile phones – made by a company which was originally formed within Google itself.
Last night, users in certain countries begin recieving emails about the store’s launch, advertising its arrival as the “best” place to buy PokéCoins.
“The Web Store offers the best deals, the biggest bundles, and exclusive offers,” states a marketing email from Niantic sent to one user, as shared on top Pokémon Go reddit TheSilphRoad. “Plus, you can get up to 1000 bonus PokéCoins with every purchase!* You can use PokéCoins to purchase bundles and other items from the in-game shop. This offer is only available at the Pokémon Go Web Store!
“Visit store.pokemongolive.com and log in to see all available deals. Don’t forget to check back regularly for updates and special offers!”
The webstore is yet to begin selling Pokécoins here in the UK, though screenshots provided by a user in Norway show the store provides discounts on all of the Pokécoin bundles it sells.
Currently, the store is selling four of the larger Pokécoin bundles available in-game: in 1200, 2500, 5200 and 14,500 dollops. In the UK, the prices for these range from £10 to £100.
In Norway, these range from 119kr to 1290kr in-game, but on the webstore can be bought for cheaper, from 109kr (with 60 coins extra) to 1090kr (with 1000 coins extra).
The timing of the webstore’s launch is also interesting, less than a week after Niantic made the controversial decision to limit the game’s popular – and lucrative – Remote Raids.
Receiving 33 percent more money from PokéCoin sales direct from its webstore would certainly help towards any loss of sales from restricting Remote Raids – although it remains to be seen how widespread the webstore’s use will become.
Last week, I asked Niantic’s Ed Wu about the financial impact on the company of the changes to Remote Raids.
“The goal here is not short-term revenue,” Wu said at the time. “Of course, imposing a cap goes to show this is not about extracting more money, even though we are raising prices. This is well balanced, where we really believe this is not going to create a short-term revenue impact for us. At the end of the day, we are a business that wants to provide this experience for our Trainers for many years to come. There’s a long-run sustainability impact to the changes, and that’s the reason behind them.”
