Nintendo

Nintendo's Early Days

Founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi as Nintendo Koppai, the company produced handmade playing cards in Japan. The business was successful and Yamauchi eventually expanded to mass-produce the products. Nintendo Koppai also changed names and expanded into other products, even hotels and taxi services for a brief time.

In the mid 1970's Nintendo showed an interest in the growing trend in America where devices would connect to a television to play games. Lacking the facilities to produce their own hardware, Nintendo partnered with other businesses to market simple game consoles. The Game & Watch handheld devices were soon to follow along with several arcade games, including the debut of Mario as Jumpman in Donkey Kong.

In 1983 the Famicom (short for "Family Computer") system was released in Japan. This console would connect to television sets and have interchangeable game cartridges for a variety of games. The Famicom was eventually renamed the Nintendo Entertainment System and released in the United States in 1986. The NES sold well over 70 million units, reviving the video game market and securing Nintendo's place in the young industry.

Over the next 15 years, Nintendo held onto their strong position in the gaming market. A successor to the NES was released in the early 1990's, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. In 1996 Nintendo's dominance in the gaming industry faced stiff competition from the Sony PlayStation. The Nintendo 64 was released but received a much cooler welcome than expected. The decreased market share continued through the next console's release, the GameCube, a few years later. The sales of the Nintendo Game Boy line of portable systems has continued strongly since its introduction in 1989. Despite criticism and varying sales over the past few years, Nintendo continues to be one of the most profitable and successful video game companies today.

Notable Nintendo Dates

• 1980 - Nintendo of America formed
• 1983 - Famicom released (Japan)
• 1985 - Super Mario Bros. released (Japan)
• 1986 - Nintendo Entertainment System released (U.S., Europe)
• 1988 - Nintendo Power magazine unveiled
• 1989 - Game Boy released; Tetris released;
• 1990 - Super Famicom released (Japan)
• 1991 - Super Nintendo Entertainment System released (U.S.)
• 1995 - Virtual Boy portable 3D system released
• 1996 - Nintendo 64 released (Japan, U.S.); Game Boy Pocket released;
• 1997 - Pokémon released
• 1998 - Game Boy Color released
• 2001 - Game Boy Advance and GameCube released
• 2004 - Nintendo DS released
• 2005 - Nintendo Revolution controller design unveiled

Nintendo's Famous Games

• Animal Crossing - Simulation game focusing on interaction and simple village tasks.
• Donkey Kong - Platform, puzzle and many other types of games starring Nintendo's early character, the gorilla named Donkey Kong.
• EarthBound - Role playing game that broke the genre by setting itself in a modern-day city.
• The Legend of Zelda - Fantasy adventure games starring the green-clad Link. Players discover items and use swords, shields, arrows and bombs to explore and defend themselves.
• Mario - The most famous of Nintendo's characters has starred in dozens of games ranging from platformer, puzzle, sports and racing.
• Metroid - Science fiction-themed exploration game starring one of the first popular female video game characters, Samus Aran.
• Nintendogs - A new Nintendo game for the Nintendo DS (Dual Screen). Players name and train their own puppy in a realistic simulation.
• Pokémon - One of Nintendo's most popular franchises with the younger crowd, Pokémon is a simple role playing game where players capture and train miniature creatures to become the best trainer of them all.
• Super Smash Bros. - Multiplayer fighting game featuring many of Nintendo's popular characters.
• Wario - Mario's nemesis has starred in various platform and puzzle games on many of Nintendo's systems.

Nintendo in 2005

Nintendo recently enforced their philosophy of introducing fresh ideas into the industry. Current president Satoru Iwata states that Nintendo will break the "past success formula" of continually producing games with more power, more pixels, more polygons, more levels, more enemies, better AI, etc. These games target a continually narrowing audience, he says, and will continue to deflate the video game market. Nintendo plans to target a broad audience of casual gamers, non-gamers and gamers alike. A recent Nintendo DS game, Nintendogs, was a bold (and very successful) step in this direction.

Nintendo has been the pioneer in innovative technology for over thirty years, introducing many concepts and designs that are the industry standard today. They continue to push new ideas in an attempt to expand the idea of entertainment. With their 100+ year history, winning franchises and strong fan appeal, Nintendo could very well be the most revered name in gaming history.

Nintendo Links

• Nintendo of Japan
• Nintendo of America
• Nintendo of Europe