Tim Cook seems to be enjoying his visit to Kyoto.
Apple Inc.'s chief executive officer was in Japan's ancient capital on Thursday, meeting with Nintendo Co. executives at the gaming company's headquarters.
Cook's visit follows last month's unveiling of Super Mario Run for Apple devices, the first time Nintendo's popular game franchise will be available on mobile gadgets. Cook spent about an hour meeting with Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima and Super Mario co-creator Shigeru Miyamoto, said Nintendo spokesman Kenichi Sugimoto. Cook later tweeted a photo of himself playing the new title with Miyamoto and game designer Takashi Tezuka.
Tim Cook @tim_cook Getting the hang of Super Mario Run, thanks to Miyamoto-san and his awesome team at Nintendo! Twitter: Tim Cook on Twitter
Shares of Nintendo rose 2.6 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, before giving up some of those gains. The stock is up almost 60 percent his year, compared with a 13 percent decline in the Topix Index. A representative for Apple in Japan didn't respond to a request for comment.
Investors have cheered Nintendo's embrace of smartphones, after years of sticking to a strategy of pairing its software with its own hardware. For Apple, adding exclusive content like Nintendo's iconic plumber is one way to boost the appeal of its devices against those from Samsung Electronics Co. and other smartphone makers. Super Mario Run is scheduled to be released in December. Nintendo hasn't said when the app will be available for Android devices.
Cook also took time to visit an iconic Shinto shrine in Kyoto, Fushimi Inari Taisha:
おはようございます！🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/s61bSbCwLO
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 12, 2016© 2016 Bloomberg L.P.
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