Nintendo ramp up for GBA release
Shares rise in anticipation, as the company increases the volume of units for GBA Day
Nintendo may find themselves the biggest home video-game maker soon, instead of the second biggest with the release of both the GameBoy Advance and the GameCube in Japan shortly. The GameBoy Advance, set to launch next Wednesday, is now to be sold in a volume of nearly 1.1 million units, up from the single million quoted previously. Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi also told Reuters in an interview that plans to release GameCube are on track. Although their is widespread confusion as the European release date of the GameCube has been shunted back to Spring 2002, the company's share price rose yesterday in Japan according to Bloomberg, against a weak Yen. The shares surged 5.5% to 21,100 yen, and some 934,000 shares traded. The reason, according to the analysts, is that Nintendo generates more than 70 percent of its sales abroad, and the yen's recent decline against the dollar boosts the value of overseas sales when converted to the weaker Japanese currency. News leaked out a couple of weeks ago that GameCube guru and industry legend Shigeru Miyamoto had seen the latest first party build of Metroid for the 'Cube and wasn't impressed. Despite this, and the associated sackings at Retro Studios, the company can do no wrong. Nintendo aim to ship more than 100 million GameBoy Advances throughout the world within the next few years. With an installed base rivalling that for the original GameBoy, it could very well be within their grasp. Related Feature - Advance Progression?