Nintendo Earns High Score

Nintendo's Wii and DS scored the company the highest ranking in Japan, dethroning longtime leader Toyota.

Videogame maker Nintendo Co. ranked the highest among Japan's top companies, dethroning longtime leader Toyota Motor Corp. The success of the Wii and Nintendo DS—Nintendo's hot-selling home console and hand-held games—have spurred most of Nintendo's growth.

Sales have slowed in the past two years, though, due to increased competition and lack of new gaming titles and hardware. Last week Nintendo posted its first first-half loss in seven years. Despite its troubles, it still topped Japan's rankings in a tough year for the country's companies.

Toyota, which was the top company for the past seven years, fell to No. 5 in 2010. The company's massive safety recalls beginning in September 2009 almost certainly affected the results. Toyota ultimately recalled more than eight million vehicles in 2010. The company—which tends to rank well in the finance and governance reputation, quality and vision categories—took a major hit in the innovation category this year.

Fast Retailing, the company behind fashion brand Uniqlo, shot to No. 3 in the rankings. Fast Retailing has seen immense growth in the past couple of years—including expansion into markets such as the U.K., U.S. and China. But domestic competition and depressed consumer spending have slowed the business. This month, Uniqlo said this month it expects its annual profit to decline for the first time in four years.

—Cathy Yan