Nintendo has for the first time failed to be listed as one of the world’s top 100 brands, Interbrand announced Monday.
Apple and Google were ranked first and second, respectively, on the U.S.-based consultancy’s Best Global Brands 2015 list, topping it for the third consecutive year. Apple was assessed at $170 billion and Google $120 billion.
While six other Japanese brands — Toyota, Honda, Canon, Nissan, Sony and Panasonic — made the list, it was the first time Nintendo has been dropped since the annual ranking began in 2001, Interbrand said.
Interbrand Japan CEO Yuki Wada said Nintendo was snubbed apparently because the Kyoto-based game-maker is not keeping up with changes in people’s lives, pointing to its failure to jump on the smartphone game bandwagon in a timely manner.
Nintendo had been reluctant to release smartphone games and only announced its entry into the market in March.
Wada added that companies that sharply increase their values, including Facebook and Amazon, are quick to adopt to changing trends.
Interbrand looked into the companies’ financial performances and how their brands contributed to profit and are expected to do so. It then estimated their brand values and ranked them.
Of all the Japanese companies, Toyota, ranked sixth, was estimated to have a brand worth of $490 billion. Honda, meanwhile, rose to 19th from 20th, while Nissan jumped to 49th from 56th.
Canon, Sony and Panasonic each slid a few notches, ranking 40th, 58th and 65th, respectively.
