Pokemon Go Pushes Nintendo Stock to its Highest Level

The shares of Nintendo Co., Ltd (TYO:7984) surged to its highest level on Monday, driven by the success of Pokemon Go.

The stock price of the Japanese entertainment, game software and console developer closed ¥20,260 per share, up by more than 24%.  Nintendo’s shares rose almost 9% last Friday. Nintendo’s market value increased from ¥2.30 trillion to ¥2.8 trillion based on data from Google Finance.

Pokemon Go is available for free on Google Play and Apple’s App Store. The mobile game was developed by Niantic Labs and Pokemon Company, which is one-third owned by Nintendo.

Users spend an average of 43 minutes a day playing Pokemon Go

Niantic Labs and Pokémon Company launched Pokemon Go in the United States on Wednesday, July 6.  Two days after its release, the mobile game was installed on more than 5% Android devices in the country. The number of its daily active users (DAUs) is equal to Twitter (NYSE:TWTR)’s DAUs, according to SimilarWeb, a web analytics firm.

Pokemon Go was also released in Australia and New Zealand last week. Since its launching in the three countries alone, the mobile games became the number one free app on Apple’s App Store.

Pokemon Go is a unique mobile game because it makes players get on their feet, step outside and walk around their neighborhood to find and catch Pokemon characters. Their smartphones will vibrate whenever they are near a Pokemon character. SimilarWeb noted that players spend an average of 43 minutes a day playing Pokemon Go. More time spend on Instagram or WhatsApp.

Dormant Nintendo fans eager to try its content for smartphones

In a note to investors, Deutsche Bank analysts commented, “If nothing else, Pokemon GO has shown that there are dormant Nintendo fans eager to trial its content for smartphones.”

Last week, analysts at Macquarie Securities wrote that the mobile game “has more (monetization) than we expected; as users build their Pokemon inventory, spending money becomes needed to store, train, hatch and battle.”

On the other hand, Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager at Chibagin Asset Management, commented, “Now if we were talking about its next generation console becoming the core platform for gamers, then that would be something to get excited about – but at the moment, this alone is not enough.”