Legendary Pokemon have been rumored since the release of Pokemon Go. French website P-Nintendo (via The Bit Bag) has revealed that a deal appears to have been struck between the game developers, Niantic, and McDonalds, which means the first batch of legendary Pokemon will only appear at their restaurants.
Mew, Mewtwo, Articuno, Moltres and Zapdos are the five legendaries that are to be appearing, but only at sponsored locations and only on a set date. The date is reported to be November 30th.
MewTwo featured heavily in the pre-release marketing surrounding the hugely popular mobile app. It features in Times Square, New York being challenged by numerous players that were in the vicinity. Articuno, Moltres and Zapdos are the symbolic Pokemon for the three available teams so they too are no surprise that they are to be included in the first wave of legendary Pokemon.
It is reported that the price for involvement in the legendary event is 3000 euros per location, a mere snip of McDonalds $27 billion annual revenue. It seems that Niantic is looking to cash in on the popularity of the mobile app while they can. The launching of legendary Pokemon with such restrictions shows that the business model of the app has been well thought out.
Pokemon Go released at various stages throughout the world, and has been a roaring success for Nintendo and Niantic. Its popularity has waned slightly since its release, but still proves to be widespread enough for the idea of sponsored locations to be financially viable.
Would you be willing to travel out of your local area to capture these rare and legendary Pokemon? Niantic hopes so, thus sewing the seeds for any future wave of legendary reveals.
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