Nintendo’s market capitalisation surged by more than $7bn yesterday as investors continued to translate the white-hot popularity of Pokémon GO into a massive bet on the Japanese company’s future in smartphone games.

Some have dubbed the game the potential saviour of a company that has been the clear loser to Sony in the latest generation of console wars. It may not make Nintendo much cash, say analysts, but it shines a spotlight on a market the Kyoto-based company is better- positioned than its competitors to dominate.

After gaining 9 per cent on Friday, shares in Nintendo leapt 25 per cent yesterday on the heels of an unusually energetic weekend for hundreds of thousands of gamers, and a frenzy of activity that kept Pokémon GO at the top of the highest-grossing charts in the US for a third day running.