Shares have doubled from US$136.33 (14,490 yen) to US$298.00 (31,770 yen) in little over a fortnight adding billions to Nintendo's value — a far cry from the Commodore 64 and a potential boost of profits of US$470 billion (50 billion yen).
🐛 #PokemonGO helped Nintendo stock double in value since launch! Track the ongoing story https://t.co/mmiyQEcMq7 pic.twitter.com/Z4HiuAHMc0
— Index (@indexdotco) July 19, 2016
Nintendo, made famous by the Super Mario Brothers, fell off the gaming radar, mainly due to the combined might of Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's Playstation, which made them look at bit childish and cartoony.
Who played Super Mario Bros 3 in the 80s
— GamesYouLoved ❤️ (@gamesyouloved) July 19, 2016
RT if you were an 80s player
fav if you played in the 90s
Comment — 2000s pic.twitter.com/H06FZX8LjA
Pokemon started on Gameboy and was based upon non-narrative repetitive gameplay, whereas Xbox and PlayStation were about exploring universes.
My mom still calls the Xbox, a Nintendo.
— Larry Smith Jr (@thndrstrck34) July 18, 2016
Meanwhile, the Japanese market kept Nintendo alive — and will no doubt go crazy for the upcoming launch of Pokemon Go in the streets, shops and businesses of Japan.
Gotta catch ‘em all. Even right next to my star 😂 #pokemongo pic.twitter.com/wZObh7C72L
— LLCOOLJ. (@llcoolj) July 19, 2016
Rumors had been spreading on Internet forums that Pokemon Go was about to be launched in Japan.
Pokemon Go not out in Japan? pic.twitter.com/GHNnZA2efF
— Chrollo Lucilfer (@MiloticSama) July 19, 2016
No doubt netting Nintendo — and share owners even more money.
Jesus I bought Nintendo shares AFTER the initial spike in value from Pokemon and I've still made 25% on my money since last week….
— Elliot Adkins (@_eadkins) July 18, 2016
But according to Techcrunch, the companies behind the augmented reality game have decided to cancel the launch scheduled for 20 July 2016. A source told the tech news site it was "due to concerns that the hype generated would overload the game."
Meanwhile, newswire Nikkei is reporting that the Pokemon Go launch in Japan is still "imminent."
It seems Nintendo's venture into augmented reality means that the electronics company is not only back in the game — but also a big player.
