British businessman stands to make millions after investing in Pokémon Go

Dave Jones was one of the first few investors to get behind the Pokemon craze last year
Dave Jones was one of the first few investors to get behind the Pokemon craze last year

A British businessman is set to make a fortune after making a wise investment in the world’s fastest growing new game.

David Jones is the only British investor in Pokémon Go, the Nintendo mobile phone game credited with creating a “whole new world” of gaming.

The game’s success means the former advertising agency boss is expected to receive a multi-million pound windfall.

Pokémon Go on a phone
Pokémon Go shows the characters in real-life locations

The market value of Nintendo, the Japanese games company that has a stake in American software developer Niantic, more than doubled to £32bn in a single week after Pokémon Go’s release.

While Mr Jones won’t say exactly how much he has invested or how much he stands to gain, he said: “It’s pretty fair to say anybody who invested would have done well.”

Last November, he joined a few other select Silicon Valley investors who backed the company as part of its first $5m funding round.

Mr Jones says he was attracted to invest because of Pokémon Go’s fusion of the real and digital world – and its potential for money makers.

“The opportunity for brands is enormous,” he said, “but both Niantic and Pokémon are going to be incredibly discerning and selective about what brands are allowed to do in the game.”

Pokémon Go involves users walking around streets chasing and capturing cartoon monsters that appear in real locations on their phones.

Mr Jones described John Hanke, 49, the chief executive and founder of Niantic, which developed the game, as "an absolute genius". 

John Hanke
John Hanke is the chief executive of Niantic Credit: Reuters

Mr Hanke “is a visionary in that he understands not just where the future is going but creates the things that will change that future," he said.

"We’re all talking about Pokémon Go, but in reality a whole new world has just been created.”

In the first week of release, Pokémon Go became the fastest growing mobile game of all time and has now been downloaded more than 30 million times.

Nintendo, the Japanese-based game maker which has an unquantified stake in Niantic, owns one third of the Pokémon series.

 

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