Nintendo value hits lifetime high

Nintendo's market value has peaked at over JPY 10 trillion (USD 85 billion / EUR 60 billion), taking it to a lifetime high.

Stock rose 5.3 per cent to JPY 71,300 on Monday — a fivefold increase in the past two years.

And investors and analysts see no sign of interest in the company dropping as it ignores competition in the market by Sony and Microsoft, and continues its own strategy of expanding the games playing market into new areas.

"There's every reason to believe Nintendo will continue to execute its strategy well in expanding the gaming industry to strengthen its position... and really keep doing what it's been doing regardless of what competition is doing," offered analyst Hiroshi Kamide, of KBC Securities, to Reuters.

Investor confidence in Nintendo remains strong ahead of the Christmas period, with the company expected to score high sales of the Wii and DS consoles and related software.

Last week the firm announced that Wii Fit, the new software and peripheral bundle that is expected to further boost consoles sales, will launch in Japan this December.