The Pokemon Go frenzy has now doubled Nintendo's market value

Pokemon Go is not even a Nintendo property, technically speaking, but the mania surrounding it has nonetheless rocketed the company's shares up another 14% on Tuesday. Since the game's debut earlier this month, Nintendo's market value has more than doubled, trading at $42.3 billion on Tuesday.

Pokemon Go is now available in 35 countries worldwide – 26 of which in Europe – and has since its release surpassed Twitter in daily users on Android in the US, has been installed on more devices than Tinder, and has turned into the most popular mobile game in US history. Riding on the wings of success, Nintendo even announced the retro-flavoured NES Classic Mini console, which was warmly welcomed by fans.

The Pokemon mania has generated tidal waves of success that have hit fields of business completely unrelated to the video game industry. McDonald's Japan saw its shares soar with some 23 percent after it began including Pokemon figures in its Happy Meals last Friday. This is the company's biggest daily gain since its July 2001 listing on Topix. Baking firm First Baking also saw its shares rise 18% on Tuesday, thanks to its Pokemon-themed bread.

Although Nintendo has shunned from mobile for years, the company is now seemingly changing its stance on the mobile gaming industry – to some extent at least– as it reportedly has plans to release four more games for Android and iOS by the end of March 2017, and possibly even a smarphone peripheral further down the line.

via: The Guardian