Nintendo market value surpasses ¥10 trillion

"Congratulations! That's a new high score!" If the stock market was a video game, Nintendo would currently be reading that phrase onscreen.

On October 3, the company's shares hit a record high of ¥64,800 (approx $551) briefly during the trading day, before closing at ¥64,300 ($547). Since then the shares have just kept going up and up, and closed today on the Japanese stock exchange, just under two weeks later, at ¥71,300 ($606). During the trading day, the shares hit a high of ¥71,500 ($608), and even at their lowest were ¥69,300 ($590).

This means the company has now surpassed ¥10 trillion ($85 billion) in market value, a fivefold increase in the last two years. According to Reuters, the continuing rise in share price is a reflection of the continuing demand for the company's latest games machines--the DS and the Wii.

Analysts continued to be upbeat about the company, despite recent reports that software houses in Japan were concerned about the longevity of the Wii. KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide said, "There's more upside than downside risk. 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."