Nintendo shares soar on Pokemon Go success

Pikachu, the famous character of Nintendo's videogame software Pokemon

Shares in Japanese gaming company Nintendo jumped by nearly a quarter on Monday following the success of its new Pokemon Go smartphone game.

It debuted at the top of gaming charts in the US last week and is set to be released in Japan soon, although it is not available yet in the UK. Pokemon Go requires users to try to catch on-screen characters like Pikachu using their real-world locations.


Millions of users have already downloaded the game. The game was downloaded onto more US Android smartphones than the dating application Tinder within a day of its launch, according to data from Similar Web.

It has already generated headlines from armed robbers using it to lure gamers into a trap, to a person discovering a dead body in a river while searching for a Pokemon character.