Nintendo
From playing cards to world domination
Nintendo's century-long journey from Kyoto card maker to gaming giant included love hotels, toys, and the console that saved an industry.
Overview
Nintendo began in 1889 making hanafuda playing cards in Kyoto, Japan. Nearly a century later, the company’s Famicom—released internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System—pulled the video game industry out of the 1983 crash and established the template for modern console gaming.
Fast facts
- Founded: 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards.
- Transformation: under Hiroshi Yamauchi (president 1949–2002), Nintendo pivoted from cards to toys to electronics.
- Diversions: before video games, Yamauchi tried taxis, love hotels, and instant rice—all failures.
- Arcade entry: Donkey Kong (1981) introduced both Nintendo’s arcade ambitions and a young designer named Shigeru Miyamoto.
- Console dominance: the Famicom (1983) and NES (1985) established Nintendo as the defining name in home gaming.
Key people
- Hiroshi Yamauchi: transformed a card company into a gaming empire through sheer force of will and ruthless business strategy.
- Gunpei Yokoi: inventor of the D-pad, Game & Watch series, and Game Boy. His philosophy—“lateral thinking with withered technology”—defined Nintendo’s approach.
- Shigeru Miyamoto: creator of Donkey Kong, Mario, and The Legend of Zelda. The most influential game designer alive.
- Masayuki Uemura: architect of the Famicom and Super Famicom hardware.
Saving the industry
The North American video game market collapsed in 1983, taking Atari with it. Nintendo’s response:
- Repositioned as a toy: marketed the NES with R.O.B. the robot to get shelf space in sceptical retailers.
- Quality control: the “Official Nintendo Seal of Quality” and strict licensing ensured games met standards—no more E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial disasters.
- First-party excellence: Super Mario Bros., bundled with the console, demonstrated what games could be.
The Nintendo difference
Nintendo’s approach differed from Western computer gaming:
- Closed platform: tight control over who could publish, ensuring quality but limiting freedom.
- Local multiplayer: games designed for the living room, not the bedroom.
- Family focus: content kept accessible and broadly appealing.
- Hardware innovation: the D-pad, shoulder buttons, analogue sticks, motion controls—Nintendo invented them all.
Legacy
Nintendo remains the only company from the 8-bit era still making consoles. Their franchises—Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, Metroid—define gaming itself. The bedroom coder culture that thrived on home computers never took root on Nintendo platforms, but their design influence reaches everywhere.