October 03, 2022: -Nintendo carried out its earlier announced 10-for-1 stock split on Thursday aimed at reducing the price of one individual share to attract new investors to the more than century-old Japanese gaming giant.

Prices for Nintendo’s stock reflected the division on the Japanese Stock Exchange website. Nintendo shares closed at 6,043 Japanese yen ($41.76) on Thursday after closing at 59,700 on Wednesday.

Nintendo shares were down by more than 1% on Friday afternoon in Asia.

The move is designed to appeal to a broader pool of investors. In Japan, investors typically buy a block of 100 shares in one company. At Nintendo’s old share price, that would command a minimum of 5.97 million Japanese yen, or just over $41,200. With the split, 100 shares would cost 604,300 Japanese yen or just over $4,170 at Thursday’s closing price, potentially making it more affordable for individuals to invest in Nintendo.

“That minimum investment of around 6 million yen is enough to put a student through an entire four-year study program at a Japanese university,” Serkan Toto, CEO of Tokyo-based games consultancy Kantan Games, stated.

“It was really about time for Nintendo as a consumer-facing company with such a strong brand recognition to reducing the share price.”

“Now, Nintendo is more affordable, especially for younger people, a type of investor increasing in Japan in recent years,” he added.

Several major tech firms, including Apple and Amazon, have announced stock splits over the past few years. While stock splits don’t fundamentally change the company, they make buying shares in the firm cheaper.

The split comes at a testing time for Nintendo, a 133-year-old company, amid broader challenges in the video game industry. The Japanese gaming giant is facing supply chain challenges hampering its ability to meet the demand for the Switch. In the year’s second quarter, Nintendo’s operating profit fell 15%, while its flagship Switch games console sales also declined.

However, Nintendo games are still appealing to a wide range of consumers. The company said this month that sales of Splatoon 3 in Japan surpassed 3.45 million units, a domestic record for any Nintendo Switch software within the first three days of sales. Splatoon 3 was launched on September 9.

Nintendo is also gearing up to release popular titles in the coming months, including a new game in the Pokemon franchise.