Nintendo Co shares jumped in Tokyo trading yesterday after its new Mario Kart 8 video game surpassed 1 million units in US sales and affiliate The Pokemon Co said an online trading-card game will be released as an application for Apple Inc’s iPad.
Shares rose 3.98 percent to ￥11,740, the most in more than four months, paring this year’s decline to 16 percent.
Mario Kart 8 became just the second Wii U title to sell more than 1 million units along with New Super Mario Bros U, the company said.
The Pokemon Co is set to make an online trading-card game that is already offered for desktop computers available as an application for the iPad, Kanako Murata, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman for the company, said by telephone.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has ruled out licensing Nintendo’s franchise characters for online games or smartphone applications. Tying Nintendo’s iconic characters to its hardware helped boost demand for the original Wii, which sold more than 100 million units and became the world’s best-selling console.
The Nikkei Shimbun reported in January that Nintendo would provide free mini-games for smartphones. The system would allow consumers to purchase games online via smartphones, the report said.
Mario Kart 8 and a lineup of figurines that interact with games are part of Nintendo’s strategy to revive flagging sales of the Wii U console and retain players shifting to smartphones and faster consoles like Sony Corp’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Corp’s Xbox One.
The Pokemon title will be available for the US and Europe, though timing for its release has not been determined, Murata said.
Engadget reported earlier that the game would be made available as an iPad app, citing the company without identifying anyone.
Meanwhile, Robin Williams fans are asking Nintendo to name a character in the next instalment of its popular Legend of Zelda series after the Oscar-winning actor, who died last week.
There are more than 100,000 signatures on an online petition calling for the Japanese firm to honor the renowned comedian and avid gamer, who appeared in numerous Nintendo commercials.
Williams was a huge fan of the Zelda series, even naming his own daughter after its titular princess.
A Tokyo-based Nintendo spokesman yesterday said that “nothing has been decided, but we won’t rule out the request.”
The designer of popular video game World of Warcraft said last week that Williams would be honored as a character in the game.
Additional reporting by AFP
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