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TOKYO: Nintendo overtook Sony Corp. on Monday in market value as the company that brought to the world Mario and Donkey Kong cranks up the pressure on its arch-rival, helped by the success of its Wii game console.
Nintendo has long dominated handheld video game machines and is now challenging Sony's crown in home consoles as the Wii outsells the PlayStation 3 several times over in key markets such as the United States and Japan.
Nintendo's share price rose to as high as 46,350 yen on Monday morning on the Osaka Stock Exchange, giving the Kyoto-based company a market capitalisation of 6.56 trillion yen (52.9 billion dollars).
Sony shares meanwhile dropped to 6,460 yen each, pushing its market value down to just shy of 6.50 trillion yen as investors fret over prospects for the iconic Japanese company's video game and electronics divisions.
Sony, famous for the way it changed how the world listened to music with its Walkman portable music players, has struggled in recent years against innovative products like Apple's iPod and Nintendo's Wii.
Nintendo meanwhile has benefited from brisk sales and the weakness of the yen. Last week it edged ahead of another electronics giant, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., in terms of market capitalisation.
The Wii, known for its innovative motion-sensitive controller, outsold the PS3 by more than five to one in Japan in May, according to research from publisher Enterbrain.
April US sales of Wii consoles meanwhile were quadruple those of Sony's PS3.
Sony has much riding on the success of the PS3 but its launch was plagued by delays and production problems, while Nintendo has proven a tough competitor with its Wii console aimed at an audience wider than hard core gamers.
Nintendo's net profit grew by 77.2 percent in the last fiscal year to March to 174.3 billion yen while Sony's net earnings edged up 2.2 percent to 126.33 billion yen in the same period.
- AFP/so
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