Pokemon Go Just Broke This Major App Store Record, as Nintendo Releases Statement

Pokemon Go has been sitting on the top of the iTunes Free and Top Grossing charts since release earlier this month. Now, Apple has confirmed that the free game was downloaded more times in its first week than any other app in history.

A spokesperson for Apple confirmed this on Friday with GameSpot sister site CNET, though the company declined to provide a specific download figure. Additionally, the spokesperson wouldn't say what app held the record before.

Apple might benefit big-time from Pokemon Go, as financial firm Needham reported this week that the game could add $3 billion to Apple's sales over the next 1-2 years. The firm estimated that two-third of all Pokemon Go downloads are for iOS devices and that a whopping 80 percent of in-app purchases are happening on iPhones and iPads. Apple, of course, gets the standard 30 percent cut.

Developer Niantic Labs has yet to say anything about Pokemon Go's download numbers or revenue, but other firms are speaking up. Sensor Tower, an analytics company for apps, claimed this week that the game had reached 30 million downloads for iOS and Android. The same report said the game has brought in $35 million from its microtransactions and is used more on a daily basis than the Facebook app.

In related news, Nintendo today released a statement [PDF] in which it explains its relationship with Niantic Labs and The Pokemon Company. Overall, the goal of the statement appears to be to temper investors' expectations about how much money Nintendo is actually making from Pokemon Go. Despite having no direct hand in making Pokemon Go, Nintendo is benefiting big-time; its share price skyrocketed after the game's release and the company's market cap pushed past Sony's.

In the statement, Nintendo explains that although it owns 32 percent of The Pokemon Company, due to the way that the accounting is set up, "the income reflected on [Nintendo's] consolidated business results is limited." This, along with the fact that Nintendo will produce and distribute the Pokemon Go Plus accessory, was already baked into the company's financial forecast.

Although Pokemon Go may be taking the world by storm and reportedly bringing in millions, Nintendo is "not modifying the consolidated financial forecast for now. " However, Nintendo said it would "make a timely disclosure" if it were to adjust its financial forecast.

Nintendo will report earnings next on July 27 and you can be sure Pokemon Go will come up.