Ever since the launch of popular app game Pokémon Go, Nintendo Corporation shares have increased dramatically. A little over a week ago, Nintendo shares grew 25% and have kept growing since Pokémon gained international fame. Last Tuesday Nintendo shares have risen again another 14% and also have increased the company’s market capitalization to 4.5 trillion yen or 42.5 billion dollars. Pokémon Go is available for free on the app store and has been released to over 35 countries. Europe has the main amount of countries with the Go app, along with the United States and recent release in Canada. With the app launch this early July, Nintendo has since calculated a 100% total increase in the last three weeks.
The Pokémon franchise has withstood the test of time. It has continued to influence generations of different kids and young adults with its animated series and movies. The Pokémon trading card game also started a huge fandom in the late nineties and as a result, many Pokémon cards have become extremely valuable. The Pokémon Go App, reigns in the same concept of the card and video games, making an individual theoretically catch Pokémon with a GPS tracker. It forces every player to walk outside to duel, capture and win points to go on to a new challenging level. The phenomenon has caught on quick, even surprising the Nintendo creators on how successful their free app has become.
Nintendo came up with the idea to create the Pokémon go app to try out a form of augmented reality game. Many fans assume that Nintendo will continue to make different versions of the Pokémon Go augmented reality game and expand this gaming experience into a new enterprise. Right now Nintendo has gained a quarter of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meaning Tokyo’s economy might be riding on this multi-billion-dollar gaming and Electronics Company.
