Nintendo shares riding nine-year high
Stock price closes the day up 7% as Switch maker tests heights not seen since the Wii's heyday, considers Chinese expansion
Nintendo's stock price is in rude health these days. Bolstered by the early success of the Switch, Nintendo shares are trading at their highest point in roughly nine years, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Nintendo shares closed Tuesday's trading in Japan up 7% to ¥40,950. The last time they were trading at that level was in October of 2008, during the initial comedown from the Wii's phenomenal success and a global economic crisis. In between these two peaks, Nintendo shares cratered, dipping below ¥9,000 both before and after the 2012 launch of the Wii U.
The Wall Street Journal attributed the day's spike to the revelation that Chinese gaming giant Tencent would be bringing its hit Honor of Kings/Arena of Valor to the Switch this coming winter, possibly as a precursor to an official launch of the Switch into the Chinese market. However, that announcement was made in the middle of last week.
The paper cites "people familiar with Nintendo's thinking" as considering Tencent as a partner for expanding its business in China, but said nothing has been settled yet. Nintendo launched a version of the 3DS into the market, but never introduced the Wii U in the region, and has yet to make smartphone titles like Super Mario Run available there.
