Pokemon Go: New scanning rates, South America, and $160M revenue

This roundup is dedicated to all the people who are learning about video game “grind” for the first time thanks to Pokemon Go. Welcome!

• Central and South America join the ranks of Pokemon players this week, just in time for the Olympics. In a Facebook post last night, Niantic also vowed a fix for the iOS battery saver mode.
• Research firm SensorTower has new stats out on Pokemon Go now, including a claim that Pokemon Go has pulled in $160 million in worldwide revenue in its first month. “We estimate that it is adding several million in net revenue per day, a figure which will no doubt grow as more regions come online—and assuming that monetization remains consistent in existing territories.” And despite all the negative ratings in the app store, people are still playing as much as ever, according to the firm.
• The Articuno claim in Ohio? However she got that Pokemon (and if she ever did), she won’t have it long. “A few of our Legendary Pokémon had erroneously been granted to some Trainers,” Niantic wrote yesterday. “Thanks to the help of several of our Trainers, we were able to locate them and bring them home safely.”
• Redditors have identified an unannounced change in the game’s scanning rates that makes a huge difference to people who hunt for Pokemon while moving quickly — like in the passenger seat of a car, on a bike, or on a train. The scanning rate has doubled from 5 to 10, making it much harder for folks not walking to pick up anything. [via Kotaku]