Directly, not much beyond the variety of plastics that are in smartphones. (And the Pokémon Go Plus wearable electronic device that will vibrate to let you know if any Pokémen are nearby, even if you're not actively using your smartphone. It's due out later this month.)
But expect a ripple effect to hit the molders who make collectible figurines, game board pieces and even accessories such as Pokémon-themed phone cases and boxes for the old fashioned collecting cards which are expected to benefit from the craze as well.
One company already is hooking itself up with the Poké craze. Accuform Manufacturing Inc., a Brooksville, Fla., manufacturer of plastic and metal signs, is now offering vinyl signs that either notify players there is a "Poké Stop Here" or warns them that "Pokémon Hunting Not Permitted On Site."
It's too early to say exactly how the new game will affect sales of toys and other items, of course, but history shows that a popular digital hit can drive sales elsewhere.
Take Angry Birds as an example.
The smartphone game first went public in December 2009, released by Finnish game company Rovio Entertainment.
In 2010, it reported sales of 6.5 million euros, or about $7.2 million.
By the end of the next year, its sales had climbed to 75.6 million euros, or about $84 million. Of that figure, 30 percent came from merchandising and licensing — a figure that took in an unknown amount of money spent on board games, figurines, stuffed animals and other items.
Popularity dropped off for the game after a high of 173.5 million euros ($192 million) in 2014, but that figure still represented outside merchandise and licensing value of 41.4 million euros (about $45 million) for Rovio.
And even though this summer's “Angry Birds” movie may not have been a big hit in the U.S., globally it made more than $150 million. What's important to plastic toymakers, though, may be that the movie also prompted Rovio to sign 300 different product licenses — from Lego A/S's six building sets to PEZ dispensers.
So something popular in one medium will different play out in sales for those companies affiliated with it.
But perhaps a cautionary tale may be in order before you try connecting your company to the next big thing. Being tied to a viral piece of the market can be a wild ride.
Consider this: In 1994, contract manufacturer EXX Inc. decided it wanted to supplement sales of its Henry Gordy toy business beyond the cyclical sales of its Hi-Flier Manufacturing Co., which made kites. It signed a number of licensing deals to make figurines and watches based on cartoon characters, including Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
And Power Rangers was the next big thing for kids in the mid-1990s. The company reported second quarter sales for 1994 were $11.6 million, more than double the previous year's $4.7 million. And the quiet company with only a relative few public shares available on the New York Stock Exchange suddenly hit it big. Its share price jumped from $5.50 to $14.87 in one day. The share price would finally top $46 before settling down.
Two years later, Power Rangers were no longer the hot toy item, however, and EXX's toy sales dropped from a high of $37.2 million in 1994 to $9.5 million. By 2003, it was out of the toy business.
So Pokémon may not be a sustainable business. But that doesn't mean playing a virtual game is just worthless.
