Nintendo Falls Out of Top 100 Global Brands List for First Time

Brand consultancy company Interbrand has posted its "Best Global Brands" report for 2015, and, for the first time since tracking began in 2001, Nintendo did not make the cut. Technology giants Apple and Google came out on top, in first and second place respectively, while Microsoft was 4th and Sony was 58th.

Interband Japan CEO Yuki Wada told Japan Times that Nintendo was left out in part because it did not adapt its business to reflect the changes in its consumers' lives. Wada specifically pointed to Nintendo's longstanding unwillingness to release smartphone games, something the company announced in March 2015 that it would finally do. The first fully-Nintendo, non-Pokemon mobile game, developed in collaboration with DeNA, will launch before the year is out.

Wada went on to say that, from a brand value perspective, it is good business to quickly respond to changes in the marketplace. He specifically said that Facebook and Amazon did this, while Nintendo did not do it in a timely enough fashion.

Nintendo just barely made the list in 2014, landing in 100th place.

Interbrand's list aims to identify the 100 most valuable global brands by looking at a number of factors, including:

• The financial performance of the branded products and services
• The role the brand plays in influencing customer choice
• The strength the brand has to command a premium price or secure earnings for the company

Head to Interbrand's website to see the full list of the top 100 brands.

Nintendo is going through a period of change. President Satoru Iwata passed away in July, with his successor only just named last month. Newly appointed president Tatsumi Kimishima will lead Nintendo as the company makes smartphone games and moves forward on the Wii U successor, currently codenamed NX. In addition, Nintendo is expanding the profile of its brands by through a deal with Universal Theme Parks and the company may even license its characters for movies.