Nintendo's share price hit an all-time high of 9,578 JPY before closing the day at 9,490 JPY on 17th December 2024 amid increasing anticipation for the company's upcoming new hardware.
The increase, however, is reportedly two-fold. The first and perhaps most obvious reason is that consumers are desperate for information on the 'Switch 2', and Nintendo has previously stated that it will be officially announced before the end of March 2025. That means that once the New Year has come and gone, we can restart the hype machine with extra gusto.
The other reason for the increase, as reported by Nikkei Asia, is that anticipated tax changes in Japan may lead to increased spending power amongst younger gamers. The proposed changes involve raising the tax threshold for household dependents aged 19 - 22 with part-time jobs from 1.03 million yen to 1.50 million yen.
The current threshold is reportedly discouraging youngsters from working longer hours, as doing so may lower the overall household income through loss in tax reduction. In short then, more potential working hours equals more spending money, and more spending money means more sales for Nintendo. Ka-ching.
It just goes to show how much folks are looking forward to Nintendo's new hardware. During its most recent earnings release, the company reported lacklustre results and decreased its forecast for Switch hardware sales by 1 million for the financial year.
