"Pokémon GO" Hype Bubble Pops For Nintendo's Shares

The hype cycle for Pokémon GO wasn’t going to last forever, and on Monday investors decided it had finally gone to far.

The catalyst was a warning from Nintendo , issued before its official earnings announcement later this week, that the release of its viral, mobile game would have a “minimal” impact on Nintendo’s profits.

Shares of Nintendo dropped 17% by noon in Tokyo, wiping more than $6 billion off the company’s market value. The stock is limited from falling by more than 18%, based on exchange rules in Tokyo.

Nintendo had issued a press release after the market closed on Friday, saying the game’s financial impact on its earnings would be “limited” and that Nintendo would not be lifting its annual forecast.

It comes after Nintendo’s shares have more than doubled in value since the game debuted in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand on July 6, following unprecedented success that sent Pokémon GO to the top of apps store charts.

Despite the fall in shares on Monday, Nintendo’s stock is still 60% higher than its pre-July 7 levels.

Pokémon GO was developed by Niantic, a games developer based in San Francisco, though Nintendo owns 32% of Pokémon GO.

Nintendo added that it had already factored in expected revenues from its Pokémon GO Plus device, a wristband that alerts players of “pocket monsters” they can catch.

/ http://goo.gl/ix3JQO / Parmy Olson