Image: A screenshot of the official Pokémon Go Twitter account (@PokemonGoApp)

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By AsiaToday reporter Kim Ye-jin - Pokémon Go is a new sensation. The incredibly popular augmented reality mobile game which even created a new word 'Pokemonomics', has given investors a reason to pay attention to Nintendo.

'Pokemonomics', a blend of Pokémon Go and economics, is dubbed by Nihon Keizai Shimbun (better known as Nikkei) as the Pokémon Go craze has given Nintendo shares record lift. In fact, Nintendo shares soared for three consecutive days, ending up at 31,770 yen on Tuesday, reported Yomiuri Shimbun.

Nintendo shares recovering the 30,000 yen level is the first time in 6 years since 2010. Besides, turnover in shares of Nintendo has hit a record high at 703.6 billion yen (approx. 7.58 trillion won), the biggest daily turnover ever for an individual stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Besides, Nintendo's market capitalization scored 4.5 trillion yen, beating rival Sony of 4 trillion yen in two years. Japanese economic media outlet Diamond Online focused on the strengths of Nintendo that beat Sony.

Referring to the statement of Atsushi Osanai, a professor at Waseda Business School, the newspaper said, "Sony is a h hardware manufacturer, and its core business is hardware rather than game itself. Meanwhile, Nintendo is an entertainment company that started with card game 'Trump'."

He pointed out that both Japanese game companies evolved their games with the times, but their core businesses are different.

Sony has been maintaining its popularity by releasing new game consoles to reflect its technological advances in game consoles. However, its smartphone game business suffered. Based on its success of console PS4, it entered the smartphone game market with PlayStation Mobile, but it dropped out last year.

On the other hand, Nintendo released video game console Wii and mobile game device NDS in order to launch new games that cannot be played on cross-platform consoles. It has been focusing on 'changing the way of playing game' rather than 'evolution of hardware'.

Prof. Osanai said the recent game market is standing at a critical crossroads with augmented reality fever. Regarding the success of second mover Nintendo, he said, "It did not rely on the existing mobile game console platforms, and did not cling to partnership to develop smartphone games."