Joystiq

To be honest, we're kinda sick of reading (and writing!) about Nintendo's newfound riches. It's like that kid you knew in school whose Dad was a big shot and everyone couldn't help but constantly prattle on about their extravagant vacations and new cars. Just like that. Except they're a Japanese video game titan and instead of extravagant vacations, it's their ¥10 trillion ($85 billion) market capitalization.

For you kids keeping score at home, you can slide Nintendo up to the number three spot on your wall chart of most valuable Japanese companies, right there behind Toyota and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (that's Japan's largest bank, but you already knew that). Of course, Reuters expounds some 500 words on the tale of the once-struggling gaming company whose focus on easy-to-play games has not only brought smiles to the faces of elderly relatives everywhere but riches to their shareholders.

And, of course, every fairy tale has an evil wizard ... cue the Dark Lord Sony. The Big N, despite having less than an eighth of the revenue of their Japanese competitor Sony, has "almost double" the market capitalization thanks to the efforts (and money printing capabilities) of the Wii and DS. Make sure you're writing all this down for those internet flame wars you've been practicing for.