130 years in the making
Today, Nintendo is a name everyone knows, famous for characters like Mario and Zelda. But the company’s story is much longer and much weirder than you might think. It didn’t start with video games at all. It actually started over 130 years ago, making playing cards. Let’s take a quick and easy trip through the most important moments of Nintendo’s journey.
1889
Image: Wikipedia – Nintendo
Nintendo is founded
A man named Fusajiro Yamauchi started a small company in Kyoto Japan, to make and sell a special type of Japanese playing card called Hanafuda. The name Nintendo means something like “leave luck to heaven.” These cards were very popular for gambling, but Yamauchi made sure his company’s cards were known for being the best quality. It took many years before the company even thought about making a toy or a game that used electricity.
1977
Image: Imgur
The First Home Console is Released
After years of trying different things like love hotels and taxi companies, Nintendo finally jumped into the world of electronics and games. The Color TV-Game 6 was their very first home video game system. It wasn’t a fancy console like the ones we have today (it could only play six different versions of the classic game Pong) but it was a big step for the company and helped them learn how to make products that people could use in their living rooms.
1980
Image: Games Radar – Phil Hayton
Game & Watch is Launched
Nintendo changed portable gaming forever with the Game & Watch series. These were small, handheld electronic games, and each one did only one thing, like playing a simple Donkey Kong or Popeye game. They were important because they were the first products to have a D-pad (the plus-shaped control pad), which is still used on almost every game controller today. They were also super popular and showed Nintendo that people wanted to play games on the go.
1983
Image: Old School Game Magazine
The Famicom (NES) is Released in Japan
This is maybe the most important moment. The Family Computer, or Famicom, launched in Japan and quickly became a huge hit. When it came to North America later, it was called the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This console basically saved the video game world after a big crash in 1983. It gave the first Super Mario Bros. game and helped create the idea of the modern video game console with swappable cartridges.
1989
Image: Business Insider
The Original Game Boy
Nintendo did it again in portable gaming with the launch of the Game Boy. This handheld system wasn’t as powerful as the NES, and its screen was only black and white, but it was tough, the battery lasted a long time, and it had one killer feature: Tetris. The Game Boy made gaming truly portable and was a massive success, selling millions of units all over the world.
1996
Image: Your Centralvalley
Nintendo 64 is Released in North America
The Nintendo 64 was a huge leap into the world of 3D games. The N64 still used cartridges instead of CDs. It gave us some of the most groundbreaking and famous games of all time, like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda. The N64’s unique controller with a joystick in the middle was also a big change.
2006
Image: CBR
The Nintendo Wii Launches
After the GameCube didn’t sell as well as they hoped, Nintendo tried something completely different with the Wii. Instead of focusing on better graphics, they focused on a new way to play: motion control. The unique wireless controller let people swing their arms to play games like Wii Sports. The Wii brought in lots of new people who had never played video games before, like older people and families, making it a huge cultural phenomenon.
2017
Image: Independent
The Nintendo Switch is Released
The newest major console, the Nintendo Switch, took the idea of portable gaming to a new level. It is a hybrid console, meaning you can play it at home on your big TV or take it out with you as a handheld device. With its fun, detachable controllers called Joy-Cons, it was an instant hit.
Nintendo’s history is proof that a company can change a lot over time. They went from simple paper cards to the most advanced video game consoles. Through all the ups and downs, they have always tried to make games that are fun, easy to pick up, and new. Their story is not just about technology; it’s about the joy of play and how a small card company became one of the most loved names in entertainment.
Click here to read more about the History of Nintendo.
