Nintendo and Pokémon often seem synonymous, with the series rising to prominence on Game Boy and subsequent handhelds and consoles. However, as investors were reminded, Nintendo doesn’t fully own franchise creator The Pokémon Company. And, more importantly, the House of Mario didn’t make Pokémon Go.
Nintendo’s investors had a bucket of ice water dumped on them Friday, as the company issued a notice that its revenues would not be majorly impacted by Pokémon Go. The project was developed by Niantic (a Google spinoff) under license from The Pokémon Company (of which Nintendo owns about one-third).
Many investors, because of the long-standing association between Nintendo and Pikachu’s pals, rushed to buy Nintendo shares after the Pokémon Go launch. This in turn cause the share value to bound upward. The game has been a worldwide phenomenon, after all, shooting to the top of app store download charts.
On July 11, share value jumped 24.5 percent from a close on July 8 of ¥16,270 ($153.40) to ¥20260 ($191.02) at close on July 11. Gains mounted to a high close on July 19 of ¥31,770 ($299.53).
Following Nintendo’s notice, share price has plummeted 17.72 percent to ¥23,320 ($219.87). It’s not all bad (at least not yet). Should the stock stabilize when the Tokyo Stock Exchange reopens tomorrow, Nintendo will still be ahead. Stock is still trading at 42.7 percent higher than it did before the Pokémon Go launch.
We’ll update later when the markets open in Japan.
Our Take
This is a potent reminder that value is created by perception. Nintendo had to inform investors now, lest the negative impact be more severe at the next quarterly report. The company is smart to temper expectations and take the hit now instead of letting a false narrative persist.