Gamer Guy

Saturday, July 16, 2016

The Pokemon Go Effect: Nintendo Shares Rise 86%, Adding $17 Billion to Market Cap

Nintendo did not make Pokemon Go, but the company is benefiting from the mobile game's massive success.

Reuters reports that Nintendo shares rose another 10 percent today and have jumped by 86 percent in just over a week. That rise has translated to a $17 billion increase in Nintendo's market value.

Retuers also added that Nintendo shares set a record for daily trading volume today for an individual stock in Japan.

Google spinoff Niantic Labs developed Pokemon Go in collaboration with The Pokemon Company. Nintendo owns a piece of The Pokemon Company, which may explain why its share price has spiked so dramatically since Pokemon Go's initial release last week.

The game is free, though there are some items players can spend real money to acquire. Given the game's massive userbase, those microtransactions may prove to be lucrative. A recent report claimed the game had already made $14 million. Additionally, Niantic is working with retail establishments--possibly McDonald's--to make some businesses sponsored locations.

Pokemon Go arrived last week in the US, Australia, and New Zealand. It's now in the UK and Germany, as well as Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Niantic Labs CEO John Hanke said the game should be available in roughly 200 markets in the near future.

Source: gamespot

Over the past week, a number of stars from the movie, TV, and music worlds have posted about the hit mobile game on their social media channels. People playing the game include singers John Mayer, Mark Hoppus, Wiz Khalifa, as well as actor Bryan Cranston. Of course, comedian and late night TV host Stephen Colbert didn't miss a chance to crack a joke, too.

You can see some of the tweets and Instagram posts below (as discovered by The Wrap).