Nintendo Shares Double as Pokémon Go Frenzy Continues

Much like a Pokémon goes through its own ‘evolution‘, so, too, has Nintendo’s share price, which has more than doubled since the release of its wildly popular mobile game Pokémon Go. Nintendo shares were up 11.1 per cent at ¥30,860 in Tokyo today, the highest level since January 2009, having been up as much as 13 per cent earlier in the session, writes Peter Wells. Pokémon Go was released in Australia, New Zealand and the US on July 6. But Nintendo’s share price rally began in earnest the following day, when traders and investors in Asia started to see the snowballing interest in the game as US players pushed the game to the top of iOS and Android charts. Nintendo shares are up 116.8 per cent over this period. They closed at ¥14,380 on July 6. Last week, the stock rose 70.7 per cent, its largest weekly gain since at least 1983 and its market capitalisation had grown enough to place it within the top 20 companies in Japan, even though there are concerns about just how much money the company will actually reap from the game.