When was Nintendo founded? Nintendo’s History

Introduction

Nintendo is a video game and consumer electronics multinational company based in Japan. Its headquarters are in Kyoto, Japan. The company that originally started by producing handmade playing cards has now become a household name because of its franchises. Nintendo, through its integrated software and hardware products, created Mario, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Pikmin, The Legend of Zelda, Splatoon, and Animal Crossing as its franchises. In this article, we will find the answer to your question ‘When was Nintendo founded?’ and will see its history.

When was Nintendo founded?

Fusajiro Yamauchi, a craftsman, founded the company Nintendo Karuta back in 1889 on 23rd September. The company originally manufactured handmade hanafuda cards.

History

• The Nintendo as we know it today has 132 years of history behind it. History that has been explained in the timeline below. 
• The founder- Fusajiro Yamauchi started producing ‘Hanafuda’ in Kyoto in 1889.  Hanafuda or ‘flower cards’ are made from cardboard and paper. They are a type of Japanese playing cards and are smaller than Western cards. 
• Subsequently, he started manufacturing western-style playing cards in 1902 too. They were the first of their kind in Japan. However, this product was being mass-produced with the intent of exporting but it grew to become as popular in Japan as the rest of the world. 
• In 1933, Yamauchi Nintendo & Co was established as an unlimited partnership with the company. 
• In 1947, the founder- Mr. Yamauchi began Marufuku Co. Ltd., a distribution company. 
• Hiroshi Yamauchi in 1950 headed the manufacturing operation and also became the President of Yamauchi Nintendo & Co. The company was renamed to be called Nintendo Playing Card Co. Ltd. in 1951. 
• In 1953,  he became extremely successful in Japan for mass-producing plastic cards. 
• This success led the company to become a listed stock on the Kyoto Stock Exchange and on the second section of the Osaka Stock Exchange in 1963. 
• Nintendo built a plant in the suburb of Kyoto in Uji City in 1969, for production. This plant was for the expansion and reinforcement of the game department.
• 1970 was a huge year for the company. Their listing in the Osaka Stock Exchange was changed to the first section. Their corporate headquarters was reconstructed and enlarged. They also started sales of the Beam Gun series. This series introduced the toy industry of Japan to electronic technology for the first time. 
• The people of Japan who were used to bowling during their pastime were introduced to the laser clay shooting system which was developed by the company in 1973.
• The company continued making progress in the gaming industry but their next milestone was in 1979 when the son-in-law of Hiroshi Yamauchi- Minoru Arakawa opened Nintendo of America in New York City. In the same year, the company also began an operations division for games that are based on coins. 
• By 1981, Nintendo of America was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. The company started selling the first portable LCD video games which also had microprocessors in them in Japan. Donkey Kong, a coin-operated video game was developed and distributed. It very quickly achieved becoming the most selling coin-operated machine. 
• In 1984, they came out with multiple titles like Super Mario Bros, Excitebike, Punch-Out!, and The Legend of Zelda. Out of these Super Mario Bros. turned out to be a massive hit all around the globe.
  1989 saw the introduction of the Game Boy in Japan. It was the first handheld portable game system. The Game Boy came with interchangeable cartridges along with Tetris. 
• In 1990, within a year of its release, Game Boy was released in Europe. In June of the same year, Nintendo of Europe was set up in Grossostheim, Germany. It was a fully owned subsidiary of Nintendo. 
• 1993 was the year that marked the rise of Nintendo to a global level. They opened Nintendo of the Netherlands. Distribution and management of Nintendo products were handed over to them from Bandai. The subsidiaries of the UK, France, Belgium, Australia, and Spain were also established. 
• In 1995 the one billionth game cartridge was produced by Nintendo.
  Nintendo 64 was launched in 1996 on June 23 in Japan. The sale of the system on the first day crossed 500,000. Nintendo 64 in March of 1997 was introduced in Europe. In the first year itself, 2.3 million systems were sold. 
•  In 2000 the sales of the Gameboy by Nintendo crossed 100 million and it became the most sought-after console ever. Nintendo of the Netherlands was made responsible for the market of Belgium in addition to the Netherlands and it was renamed Nintendo Benelux.
  The expansion of Nintendo continued and a new office was opened in Berkshire, the UK after in January 2001 Nintendo UK was established. All this while Nintendo continued introducing new products that reached new heights.
• After the UK, Nintendo opened a new office in Milan. Thus, establishing Nintendo Italia on 2nd January 2002. 2002 also marked the end of Hiroshi Yamauchi’s tenure as President after 52 years. As he retired, he made Satoru Iwata his successor. 
• More than 25 million units of Game Boy Advance were sold by the end of 2002. 
• Nintendo launched the Nintendo DS in Europe on 11th March 2005. The system was an immediate success and a million units were sold throughout Europe. Because the Nintendo DS had games suitable for everyone it became the most desired portable console in the gaming world in 2006. 
• The end of the year 2006 saw the launch of a home console which had an innovative control system- Wii. Its emergence opened doors for an entirely new gaming audience. 
• On 6th December 2007, Nintendo launched the website for Nintendo of Europe with a complete makeover. In 2008 the website also welcomed the inclusion of South Africa. 
• In September 2010, Nintendo celebrated the release of Super Mario in Japan, completing 25 years. They marked this milestone in December by releasing the Super Mario All-Star’s 25th Anniversary on Wii. 
• In 2011, The Legend of Zelda completed 25 years of release. The celebrations culminated throughout the year and only ended in November. 
• Nintendo kept coming up with new systems and games that kept its loyal customers excited and the releases were greatly appreciated.
  2015, marked the 30th anniversary of Super Mario’s release. Tatsumi Kimishima became the President of Nintendo Co., Ltd.
  Nintendo’s last model was Nintendo Switch Lite which was released in 2019. It was a follow-up of the original model- Nintendo Switch, which was launched in 2017 March. 

The current President of the company is Shuntaro Furukawa. He is the sixth President and took office on 28th June 2018. The company provides employment to 6,547 individuals as per reports of 2021. Currently, the sales of the Switch hardware are at 4.45 million units making them down by 2.17%. The software sales decreased by 10.2% to 45.29 million units. 

Conclusion

Being around for more than a century in the same industry Nintendo realizes and understands what their customers and the audience of the gaming world at large want. They have been at the top of their game for very long and their new lineup looks promising. 

FAQs

1. Can Netflix be streamed on the Nintendo Switch?

Ans: While Netflix cannot be easily streamed on the Switch, there are other services that can be streamed. Currently, the app for YouTube can be downloaded from the e-shop to stream. 

2. Does America own Nintendo?

Ans: The parent company of Nintendo of America is Nintendo CO., Ltd and it has full ownership of the subsidiary.