One of the world’s most valuable brands and one of the most iconic companies of all time, Nintendo has carved out a special place in the hearts of millions of gamers across the globe.
It is tough to find an analogue for Nintendo even within its own industry – the company is that foundational to what we understand as home console games today. Beginning life back in September 1889 as a humble card and game company, the Kyoto-based Nintendo was infused with heavy doses of Japanese culture from the very beginning.
Nintendo Playing Card Company HQ
Born in the ancient capital of Japan, Nintendo in many ways reflects the classical Japanese sentiments many have come to associate with that country’s way of doing business and producing goods: Everything is considered, artisanal, intricate, and exquisite. Nintendo’s attention to quality is something that has always been with the company and its willingness to make use of cheap formats to spread mass ideas about gaming is indelibly in its DNA.
Though it started out as the purveyor of parlor games Nintendo has since grown into a video games giant and a cultural output center that rivals Disney for its iconic pantheon.
Nintendo Color TV Game 6
Nintendo’s story as a video games company begins in earnest in 1974 with legendary designer Gunpei Yokoi and the Color-TV Game, a console that came with a game pre-loaded on it.
Undertaken after partnering with Magnavox to bring their Odyssey to the Japanese market, Nintendo’s Color-TV Game was not only their first video game device but also the meeting of two of the greatest minds in Nintendo’s game design history: the aforementioned Gunpei Yokoi (father of the Game Boy and Metroid, among others) and legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, also known as the father of Mario and Zelda.
Nintendo Game & Watch (Ball)
Inspired by a