FX.co ★ Pokemon GO helps Nintendo shares soar

A game that is confidently gaining in popularity also makes shares of its developer rise to sky highs. Shares of Japanese company Nintendo soared by 93 percent in just seven days, boosted by growing interest in Pokemon Go. The company’s capitalization reached a six-year high; and its trading volume set an all-time record since opening of the Japanese stock market – 476 billion yen per trading day. Tokyo Electrics takes the second place with 446 billion yen by trading volume; and SoftBank, the third place with 431 billion yen. Nintendo holds 33 percent of Pokemon Company, which manages the project marketing, and around 5-10 percent on Niantic, Pokemon Go developer.

The app was rolled out on July 7, and the citizens of the US, Australia, and New Zealand were the first to start catching pocket monsters. The Europeans joined the hunt for creatures later. It took the game a single week to captivate countries. The user count instantly broke the threshold of 20 million players only in the United States, overtaking the former leader Candy Crash Saga and making Pokemon Go the most popular mobile game ever in the US.

The overwhelming popularity will guarantee high returns. In-app purchases could total $4 billion in a year, David Gibson, an analyst at Macquarie, believes. Though the app is free, users have to make these purchases to progress in the gameplay.