These days, Nintendo is best known as the video game company that has given gamers Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, Kirby, and more. But did you know that Nintendo did not start off as a video game company?
In fact, when the company launched its first business, it was not even tech-related. Can you guess what they sold at first? No, it was not clothes. It was not furniture either.
It was playing cards.
Nintendo Sold Playing Cards in the Beginning
Nintendo came to existence on September 23, 1889, in Kyoto, Japan. Yes, you read that right. Nintendo is actually 133 years old as of writing.
At that time, Nintendo's founder, Fusajiro Yamauchi sold what is known in japan as "Hanafuda." According to an article by Business Insider, Hanafuda is a type of Japanese playing cards.
"The cards had pops of yellow and red with bold, black lines, depicting song birds, flowers, and cherry blossoms used for multiple games - including gambling," the Business Insider article says.
By the time the 1900s rolled along, his company was regarded as one of the largest card-selling companies in the country. In fact, according to the official website of Nintendo, the company started manufacturing and selling its first western-style playing cards in Japan in 1902.
Business Insider's article also mentions that Nintendo also ventured into other businesses, such as ramen noodles and taxi services. However, playing cards remained to be its biggest product during its early days.
By 1953, Nintendo became the first company to successfully mass produce plastic playing cards in the country. Some of these cards even had Disney characters on them, according to Business Insider.
In 1961, it was able to open a second branch in Tokyo. A year later, the company was able to list stock on the Second Section of the Osaka Securities Exchange and on the Kyoto Stock Exchange.
The Shift to Video Games and Consoles
The Nintendo as we know now did not start happening until the 1970s rolled along.
According to Nintendo, it was in 1971 when the company created an entertainment system called Laser Clay Shooting System. Nintendo had to wait four years before it could launch its first home video game machines, which were called TV Game 15 and TV Game 6.
While Nintendo did start selling arcade video games by 1978, it was only three years later that Donkey Kong, one of the most popular Nintendo video game titles today, was released.
Nintendo did not limit themselves to just producing video games people can play with. They also produced the consoles people could play on. In 1983, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which is also known as Family Computer System in Japan, was launched.
And if you are wondering just when Mario popped up in Nintendo's timeline, it was actually in 1985, per the Nintendo website.
Nintendo continued producing video game systems in the 80s and 90s as well. The Game Boy was launched in 1989 while the Nintendo 64 hit the market in 1996.
Nintendo Today
Since its birth 133 years ago, it goes without saying that Nintendo has come a long way. Many of its video game titles are still being played today and new additions have been made to its library. Those additions include Animal Crossing and Splatoon.
Nintendo has not stopped creating its own video game consoles. The Nintendo Switch, which was launched in 2017, is the latest console to come from the company.
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