The Nintendo stock market roller coaster back, this time thanks to Apple.
Nintendo's US-traded stock shot up over 23% Wednesday afternoon after Apple announced the company will release a version of its Super Mario franchise for the iPhone and iPad and make a version of Pokémon Go for the Apple Watch.
Investors have been clamoring for signs the company will get serious about mobile games, and Pokémon Go was the first sign of that — it's been downloaded over 500 million times. Its early success pushed Nintendo stock to an all-time high, making the company more valuable than Sony, but the shares fell as investors realized Nintendo's profits would not be boosted substantially by the game, which was developed by an independent studio.
Today's stock price spike could also be short-lived: Neither the Super Mario Run iOS game nor Pokémon Go for the watch are available yet, and Nintendo has yet to say how much money it expects to make from the games. Super Mario Run will be available by this holiday season and the watch version of Pokémon Go will be available by the end of the year.