Global interest surrounding Pokémon GO has allowed Nintendo’s share price to leap by 25 percent on Monday, and shows no signs of slowing any time soon.
That is the largest jump in a single day since 1983, when the company was first listed in Tokyo. Such is the app’s success, that Nintendo has added $7 billion (£5.4 billion) to the company’s market value. That surge has only continued, seeing the share price climb by another 13 percent today.
After hesitation around their approach to cracking the smart device market with Miitomo, Pokémon GO has reassured investors that Nintendo can still score a hit when their iconic IP is brought to bear. That being said, the free-to-play augmented reality app was a joint venture, the result of combined experience between Nintendo, The Pokémon Company and Niantic.
“This is some Nintendo magic,” Kantan Games CEO Dr. Serkan Toto shared with Bloomberg. “It’s the first time a mobile game has created a buzz like this at least in the U.S. This is basically what Nintendo is all about.
“When I ask my friends in the industry if they can remember another occasion when a mobile game shot up to the number one grossing position that quickly, no one can remember another case like this.”
BGC Partners Inc. manager Amir Anvarzadeh adds: “Clearly Nintendo has managed to pull off something very special that has created a craze in the mobile-gaming market in a matter of days. This game may not be big enough to move the earnings dial in the short term, but sentiment-wise it could prove very potent at this stage for Nintendo when hopes of major success on mobile have been very deflated since last year.
“Nintendo’s history is peppered with big comebacks, when all seem lost and we have much respect for its developers to argue with these early signs of Pokemon euphoria. Although the game is free to download, it looks well structured to potentially monetize on its early success through in-app purchases.”
