Nintendo is placed second in the top 3 gaming platforms of all time, right between Sony (first) and Activision/Blizzard (third). Nintendo is responsible for game franchises such as “Super Mario Bros.,” “The Legend of Zelda,” and “Pokemon.” All of these franchises are still up and running with new games being released every year.
Nintendo was founded on Sept. 23, 1889, in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. It was originally a gambling company that made playing cards called hanafuda which were used for gambling by the yakuza. In 1977, Nintendo decided to release their first game console, the Color TV-Game. With it, they released “Donkey Kong,” which led the company into its popularity. In 1985, they released the Nintendo Entertainment System with the game “Super Mario Bros.” Some of Nintendo’s most popular systems include the Gameboy line, the DS line, and the Wii. With its most recent release of the Nintendo Switch OLED, they have reached peak console design thanks to its handheld capability, multiplayer, and ability to connect to a TV.
As of March 2023, the company has sold a total of 5.592 billion video games and over 836 million hardware units. Nintendo has teamed up with many other companies like HAL Laboratory, Intelligent Systems, and Game Freak. In 1959, Nintendo even partnered with The Walt Disney Company to put some of Disney’s characters on their cards. For a long time, Nintendo remained a game company that sold cards and other games like mahjong and chess. It was only in 1973 with the release of Color TV-Game that they started producing video games. They have made video games ranging from console to handheld to arcade games. Nintendo has made a very big impact on the world of gaming with their cute but deadly cartoon characters. With RPG games like “Super Mario Bros“ and slice of life games like “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” Nintendo has made our gaming world a fun and enjoyable place.
