Games and toys
Nintendo 任天堂
From playing cards to Mario
Nintendo started in Kyoto in 1889 making hanafuda, Japanese flower-pattern playing cards. In the 1960s it also tried running taxis and selling instant rice before toys and electronic games took off. The Famicom, Game Boy and Switch made it one of the best-known game companies in the world.
- Founded
- 1889
- Meiji 22
- Founder
- Fusajirō Yamauchi
- Started in
- Kyoto
- Status
- Still trading
- Age 137 years
Timeline
-
1889 (Meiji 22)
Fusajirō Yamauchi starts making hanafuda cards in Kyoto.
-
1959 (Shōwa 34)
Sells playing cards with Disney characters, a big success.
-
1980 (Shōwa 55)
Launches the Game & Watch handheld games.
-
1983 (Shōwa 58)
Releases the Family Computer (Famicom), sold abroad as the NES.
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1989 (Shōwa 64 / Heisei 1)
Launches the Game Boy.
-
2017 (Heisei 29)
Launches the Nintendo Switch, followed by the Switch 2 in 2025.
Years in brackets are the Japanese era year. Japanese era converter →
Did you know?
Nintendo still sells hanafuda cards, and the Nintendo Museum, opened in 2024, is in its old card factory in Uji, near Kyoto.
Dates follow the companies' own published histories where available. Trademarks belong to their owners; this page is not affiliated with any company listed.