Often spikes in the share price of a video game hardware maker can be attributed to a particular boon or craze, perhaps one that isn't even hardware – regarding Nintendo, the Pokémon Go madness of last summer comes to mind. During that time, Nintendo's stock price soared, and stories of the company being "more valuable than Sony" circulated the internet wildly until the the whole thing blew over and things returned to normal.
As The Guardian points out in a piece published earlier today, this time it isn't Pokémon Go pushing Nintendo's shares, or some other passing fad, and yet Nintendo's stock price has risen over 100% year-on-year thanks largely to its so-far wildly successful Nintendo Switch hybrid console. Nintendo's share price currently sits at ¥31,880 (approximately $285), surpassing the Pokémon Go boost of yesteryear and attaining the stock's highest rise since April of 2010. As you may recall, 2010 was a relative high-point of success for Wii and Nintendo 3DS, an astoundingly prosperous (and profitable) period for the company. As the graph below demonstrates, the true peak of Wii hysteria was several years prior, but 2010 was no slouch either.
There's little doubt Nintendo Switch has something to do with all of this, and with a single hardware channel to worry about moving forward instead of two (though it does release mobile apps), Nintendo need simply continue its steady stream of quality software on Switch to keep the device's hot-streak alive – at least in theory. Company President Tatsumi Kimishima has stated that reaching the 10 million mark in sales this year is the best bet at Switch attaining Wii-like sales over the course of its lifetime. If that happens, it's difficult to to predict what Nintendo's share price might do, but the trend will surely be in the company's best fiscal interest regardless.
On the immediate horizon Nintendo has ARMS, headed to Nintendo Switch June 16th and scheduled for a "Global Testpunch" demo weekend just a few days from now. The company also just released Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia for 3DS, a swansong for that device as the company makes a smooth transition to a full-time Nintendo Switch and mobile app business model.
