From Mario Bros to Pokemon Go or the Comeback of Nintendo

Shares have doubled from US$136.33 (14,490 yen) to US$298.00 (31,770 yen) in little over a fortnight adding billions to Nintendo's value — a far cry from the Commodore 64 and a potential boost of profits of US$470 billion (50 billion yen).

Nintendo, made famous by the Super Mario Brothers, fell off the gaming radar, mainly due to the combined might of Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's Playstation, which made them look at bit childish and cartoony.

Pokemon started on Gameboy and was based upon non-narrative repetitive gameplay, whereas Xbox and PlayStation were about exploring universes.

Meanwhile, the Japanese market kept Nintendo alive — and will no doubt go crazy for the upcoming launch of Pokemon Go in the streets, shops and businesses of Japan.

Rumors had been spreading on Internet forums that Pokemon Go was about to be launched in Japan.

No doubt netting Nintendo — and share owners even more money.

But according to Techcrunch, the companies behind the augmented reality game have decided to cancel the launch scheduled for 20 July 2016. A source told the tech news site it was "due to concerns that the hype generated would overload the game."

Meanwhile, newswire Nikkei is reporting that the Pokemon Go launch in Japan is still "imminent." 

It seems Nintendo's venture into augmented reality means that the electronics company is not only back in the game — but also a big player.