Pokémon Go Boosts GameStop’s Sales

It seems lately that everything Pokémon GO touches turns to gold.

The latest example: GameStop, the video game retailer, said that sales doubled last weekend in its 462 store locations designated as PokéStops — places where Pokémon GO players can go to gain virtual items to be used in the game, according to Retail Dive.

Pokémon GO players were stopping by GameStop locations over the weekend to pick up items for the game but were also apparently making GameStop purchases at the same time.

It shouldn’t come as a big surprise, however, that consumers associate GameStop with Pokémon. GameStop CEO J. Paul Raines told CNBC recently that his company is the world’s largest distributor of Pokémon games and collectibles.

As the Pokémon GO craze shows no signs of abating anytime soon, expect to see more and more retailers trying to piggyback on the game’s astronomical success.

Niantic Labs, the game developer that created Pokémon GO, is apparently planning to allow retailers and other businesses, like restaurants and coffee shops, to serve as sponsored locations for in-game activities.

And the seeds of these types of sponsorship deals may already have been planted.

Recently, one enterprising player dove into the code underneath Pokémon GO and found several references to the McDonald’s brand name and logo, although none of the code was active, and McDonald’s locations didn’t appear any different in-game than any other seemingly randomly chosen PokéStop or gym. However, an anonymous source told Gizmodo that Niantic does indeed plan on moving forward with an official partnership with McDonald’s that will see every single store in at least one unnamed Asian country pinned as highly visible stops within the game.

It remains to be seen, however, what type of retailers and businesses will be able to capitalize on the Pokémon GO craze and which won’t.

And, of course, it remains to be seen just how long the public’s Pokémon obsession will continue.