Nintendo's market capitalization soared by $14 billion in a week thanks to the global success of the new game Pokemon Pokopia. Shares of the Japanese company, specializing in video game and gaming system development, showed the highest weekly increase in the last ten years, according to Bloomberg.
On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nintendo's shares rose for four consecutive sessions and on Friday, March 13, during trading, they increased by a maximum of 2.7%, reaching 10,425 Japanese yen ($65.4). Overall, over the past week, the shares gained about 18% and closed trading at 10,220 Japanese yen ($64.1).
The game Pokemon Pokopia was released on March 5, 2026, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2 system. In the first four days after its release, the new game sold 2.2 million copies and received rave reviews from fans online.
The successful debut of Pokemon Pokopia helped partially offset the losses that Nintendo incurred since the end of last year due to a shortage of memory chips. The sharp rise in memory prices may negatively impact profits from sales of the new gaming console Switch 2.
"No one expected such success — no one anticipated such high quality," said Serkan Toto, founder of the consulting company Kantan Games. In his opinion, this is a very rare case where a Nintendo game accidentally becomes a hit. "This is the best Pokemon game in history," he believes.
The game, in which players control a Pokemon transforming a wasteland by cultivating fields and building houses, is a "hidden gem," previously stated Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal. Pokemon Pokopia serves as a crucial catalyst, accelerating the expansion of the user base for the Nintendo Switch 2 console and attracting a paying audience outside of gamers.
Previously, Nintendo attracted a wide audience of players with the life simulation game Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which became a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic and helped boost sales of the original Switch console.
Leave a comment