About 7.5M people have downloaded Pokémon Go in the U.S. since launch

The reason you keep bumping into other Pokémon Go players is because millions of people are trying to catch ’em all.

Approximately 7.5 million iOS and Android owners have downloaded Pokémon Go in the United States since Wednesday, according to app-market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. The rush to download it (and spend money on it) has pushed Nintendo’s stock up 25 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The location-based augmented reality game puts digital pocket monsters into your real world using GPS data, which requires you to get out of the house and go walking to get the most from the mechanics. It is only out in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand — and it is coming to Europe and Asia in the next few days, according to The Pokémon Company. But while the rest of the world waits, Poké-trainers that do have access to the app have made it the No. 1 game in terms of downloads and revenues in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. Mobile gaming is a $36.9 billion business, but something like Pokémon Go could fuel further growth as it attracts different people to its appealing brand and different style of gameplay.

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In addition to the downloads, Sensor Tower estimates that Pokémon Go is generating $1.6 million in revenue from iOS in the U.S. alone. That doesn’t even include Android. When you look at all three active territories and all platforms, the number is huge.

“Pokémon Go as so far managed to generate $14.04 million across mobile platforms since its release,” SuperData Research analyst Joost van Dreunen said in a statement. “[This puts] it ahead of other titles using the franchise, including Pokémon Shuffle Mobile which has earned an estimated $14.03 million since its release in August 2015.”

As an example of Pokémon Go’s popularity, here’s a tweet showing dozens of people playing it in Central Park in New York City:

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Pokemon GO is just insane right now. This is in Central Park. It's basically been HQ for Pokemon GO. pic.twitter.com/3v2VfEHzNA

— Jon (@IGIhosT) July 11, 2016