Nintendo Passes Sony For Japanese Market Share

After months of outselling their consoles, Nintendo has surpassed Sony in market value, becoming one of Japan's top 10 most valuable companies for the first time in its history.

Shares in Nintendo Corporation were up 1.5 percent at midday on Monday, according to a Reuters report, for a market value of 6.54 trillion yen ($53 billion), which Sony dropped 1.1 percent, leaving it at 6.5 trillion yen. Sony had dominated the Japanese console market for the past decade, but ongoing demand for the company's Wii and DS systems, combined with lackluster PlayStation 3 performance, has led to a shift in the market. "It is becoming quite clear that Nintendo is taking back its market share from Sony in the console market while well-defending its stronghold of portable games," said Mizuho Securities analyst Takeshi Koyama.

However, he also noted that Nintendo's position could be precarious. "This is one of those companies that is not exactly making daily necessities," he said. "One negative factor and shares could take a dive. We need to be careful in dealing with shares like this."

Sony growth has been considerable over the past two years, gaining a formidable 67 percent and outperforming the Nikkei average of 57 percent, but Nintendo's share value has more than quadrupled in the same period.