Which video game company started by making playing cards?
Quick answer
Nintendo began as a maker of playing cards. Fusajiro Yamauchi founded the company in Kyoto, Japan, on September 23, 1889, to produce handmade hanafuda, Japanese flower cards.
Key facts
- Founded
- September 23, 1889, Kyoto
- Founder
- Fusajiro Yamauchi
- First product
- Hanafuda playing cards
- Headquarters
- Kyoto, Japan
Hanafuda cards
Hanafuda (“flower cards”) are small, thick Japanese cards decorated with flowers, plants and animals for each month of the year. Nintendo still makes them today. In 1959, it struck a deal with Disney to print cards featuring Disney characters, which boosted sales.
Strange experiments
In the 1960s, Nintendo tried many businesses outside cards, including a taxi company and instant rice. Then it turned to toys, such as the Ultra Hand, an extending grabber designed by engineer Gunpei Yokoi.
Becoming a gaming giant
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1980 | Game & Watch handheld games |
| 1981 | Donkey Kong arcade game introduces Mario (then called Jumpman) |
| 1983 | Famicom in Japan; released as the NES in North America in 1985 |
| 1985 | Super Mario Bros. |
| 1989 | Game Boy, with Tetris |
| 2006 | Wii and its motion controls |
| 2017 | Nintendo Switch, a home and handheld hybrid |
| 2025 | Nintendo Switch 2 |
Designer Shigeru Miyamoto created Mario, The Legend of Zelda and many other classics.
What does “Nintendo” mean?
The name is often translated as “leave luck to heaven,” though its exact meaning isn’t certain. It fits a company that began with card games of chance.
Nintendo today
Nintendo is one of the oldest video game companies and one of the most valuable companies in Japan. Mario is among the most recognizable characters in the world, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) became one of the highest-grossing animated films.
For a different kind of game, see how to solve a Rubik’s Cube. For another Japanese tradition, see what origami is.
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