Nintendo is now worth more than Sony thanks to 'Pokémon Go'
Pokémon, whoa.
Nintendo is now worth more than double what it was before the launch of Pokémon Go, as investors continue to drive up the price of the video game company's stock.
In dollar terms, Nintendo has added a whopping $23 billion to its value in less than two weeks.
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The chart below illustrates just how steep the rally has been.
The share price increase has sent Nintendo's market capitalization -- the value of the company based on its stock price -- to more than $40 billion.
That's more than one of its rivals in the video game industry, Sony, which is around $38 billion.
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Nintendo's shares rose almost immediately after the game was released and skyrocketed after the popularity of Pokémon Go became apparent. Some firms have released data showing it to be the most popular mobile game of all time, with daily active users rivaling some of the most popular apps including Google Maps and Snapchat.
The frenzy has also meant a lot of money and shares trading hands. The sheer volume of trading has been staggering. Nintendo now owns the record for the most traded stock in the history of Japan's market.
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Nintendo's rally comes despite only having a tangential interest in Pokémon Go.
The game itself was developed by Niantic, a private company that spun out of Google. The Pokémon characters are property of The Pokémon Company. Nintendo has an partial ownership stake in both those companies, meaning they'll get a cut of the game's success.
Nintendo's stock rally, however, has been widely attributed to the possibility that the company will be able to translate the success of Pokémon Go into future games with its popular game franchises including Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda.
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Jason Abbruzzese is a Business Reporter at Mashable. He covers the media and telecom industries with a particular focus on how the Internet is changing these markets and impacting consumers. Prior to working at Mashable, Jason served as Markets Reporter and Web Producer at the Financial Times. Jason holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University and an M.A. in International Affairs from Australian National University.
