This has all happened even before the game is released in Japan – its home market and the world’s most valuable market for smartphone games.
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The stock’s performance following the release of the augmented reality game is staggering: Shares have risen by more than 120 percent since July 6, and almost 60 percent over the past five trading sessions.
It comes after the Japanese company recorded its biggest gain since revealing the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1983 when shares closed up 24.5% at 20,260 Japanese yen (£152.28) on July 11. Even so, the stock has gained 86 percent since its USA launch earlier this month, adding US$17 billion to its market capitalisation.
Perhaps the strongest argument is that Windows Phone 8 is the third most popular mobile OS, so it just makes sense for Niantic to open their game to more players. The ban only lasts for a few hours, though, so players can just go back to cheating when the ban is lifted.
Forbes cited Niantic CEO John Hanke as saying the reason for the delay is that Japan’s server capacity is not powerful enough to keep up with expected demand.
Investors are betting its popularity is a good sign for Nintendo’s nascent push into mobile gaming, a major U-turn for a company that long insisted on a consoles-only policy.
A “Pidgey” Pokemon is seen on the screen of the Pokemon Go mobile app, Nintendo’s new scavenger hunt game which utilizes geo-positioning, in a photo illustration taken in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 11, 2016.
Shares of Japan’s McDonald’s Holdings Co piggy-backed the Pokemon Go craze, rising 12.5 percent in early trade after TechCrunch reported the fast-food chain operator would become the game’s first sponsor.
However, shares in Pokemon Go creators Nintendo fell by 12.6%.
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McDonald’s Holdings Co. (Japan) surged 9.1 percent. It is possible that in the near future, Pokemon GO can be played on other devices such as the Apple Watch or even the soon to be released Google Glass and the Microsoft Hololens.
