Nintendo Capitalization Nears That of Sony in Tokyo Market

Investors impressed with the brisk sales pace of Nintendo's Wii console and DS hand-held device have registered their confidence in the Tokyo market, boosting the company's market value to 6.3 trillion yen, or $51 billion.

Nintendo shares ultimately closed at a 1.4 percent increase, besting Panasonic's parent company Matsushita and placing it within striking distance of Sony (6.64 trillion yen).

Hiroshi Kamide, an analyst with KBC Securities, told Reuters, "Nintendo is a market leader in everything it does now, which is basically the hand-held as well as console gaming market. We haven't seen Nintendo being a market leader in both products for over a decade."

Sony's own shares have been performing impressively, Reuters continued, scoring an increase of 72 percent over the past two years. However, it pales in comparison to Nintendo's strides, which amount to an almost four-fold increase in the same time frame.