Harry Potter augmented-reality game is off to a slow start
Early numbers show Wizards Unite trails previous hit Pokémon Go in downloads, sales
The new mobile game “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite” is off to a lackluster start, signaling another missed opportunity to drive mainstream adoption of augmented reality, the muchhyped technology that the app showcases.
“Wizards Unite,” launched last Thursday, was downloaded 4.7 million times in its first six days, according to estimates from Sensor Tower Inc. By comparison, the augmentedreality game “Pokémon Go” attracted 32 million downloads over the same period following its release in July 2016, the analytics firm said. The games share a developer, venturebacked Niantic Inc.
Niantic co-developed “Wizards Unite” with Warner Bros., now part of AT&T Inc. Warner Bros. has an ownership stake in the more than two-decade-old Harry Potter franchise. Books about the boy wizard have sold hundreds of millions of copies world-wide and inspired blockbuster movies, theme parks and countless merchandise.
“Wizards Unite” also fared worse than “Pokémon Go” in initial sales. “Wizards Unite” generated $1.9 million in its first six days, compared with $50 million for ”Pokémon Go,” Sensor Tower’s data show. The new game also hasn’t yet ranked among the top 20 apps in major app stores’ grossing charts in the U.S. and other leading markets—a feat that usually happens within days of a game’s debut.
“It’s a little surprising it’s not doing better because of the Harry Potter IP,” Stephens analyst Jeff Cohen said. But he thinks the game’s monetary performance could improve over time. “It’s a deeper game” than “Pokémon Go,” he said, so it may just take players longer to start spending money in it. “This could mean that what players want from an AR game is simplicity,” he said.
ANiantic spokesman said that “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite” has attracted millions of players around the world and the company looks forward to having even more people experience it as it continues its global rollout. The game launched in about 70 countries in its first four days and today is available in more than 140 countries.
The tech industry is betting that augmented reality, known as AR, will be one of the next major computing interfaces. Tech juggernauts including Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc. all have poured resources into AR in recent years.
AR blends the digital world with the real world, allowing someone to see, for instance, how a virtual coffee table might look in their living room before buying it. Niantic set off the first major wave of consumer interest in the technology with the release of “Pokémon Go.” But many players ended up turning the AR off, saying that it made the game’s main objective of capturing virtual monsters too cumbersome.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in March, Niantic co-founder and Chief Executive John Hanke said AR technology has improved over the past three years. With “Wizards Unite,” players can experience upgrades such as the ability to walk a full 360 degrees around a digital object and take a selfie with a werewolf.
Some early reviews and social-media commentary suggest the game’s AR features have nothing to do with the lack of enthusiasm for the game itself. A common gripe is that it takes users too much time and effort to replenish digital energy needed to achieve goals in the game without spending money.
Even so, the game’s tepid reception is “a gut punch for AR,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said. “It was viewed as a potential door opener for other AR games and use cases, and it’s definitely not off to the start that some were hoping.”
“Wizards Unite” is Niantic’s third mobile game. The company, founded inside Google in 2010, went independent in 2015. It was valued in December at $3.95 billion after raising $245 million in a Series C funding round led by venture-capital firm IVP, with participation from Samsung Electronics Co., aXiomatic Gaming LLC and others.