Nintendo Turns 137, Predating Sliced Bread and the Eiffel Tower

On September 23, Nintendo marked its 137th anniversary, a milestone that underscores the company's remarkable journey from humble beginnings to becoming a global entertainment giant. Founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi in Kyoto, Nintendo initially specialized in producing hanafuda, traditional Japanese playing cards adorned with illustrations rather than numbered suits.

Hanafuda quickly gained popularity due to its picture-based design, which allowed players to engage in games that skirted around Japan's 1882 ban on gambling, a law that had previously proscribed most forms of wagering.

By the early 20th century, Nintendo had become Japan's leading hanafuda manufacturer, producing a variety of card lines and even venturing into international markets. This period of growth illustrates that Nintendo operated for several decades without any direct connection to the video games for which it is now renowned. The transition to gaming began in the 1950s when Nintendo partnered with Walt Disney Productions to license Disney characters for its playing cards, a move aimed at tapping into the children's market.

This strategy proved successful, bolstering sales and laying the groundwork for Nintendo's foray into the toy industry.

In 1969, Nintendo took another significant step by appointing Gunpei Yokoi to head a new toy division. This move proved pivotal, as Yokoi's team soon produced a series of innovative toys, including the Beam Gun and the Ultra Hand, cementing Nintendo's reputation as a toy manufacturer. The company's first home video game console, the Color TV-Game 6, launched in 1977, followed by the Color TV-Game 15.

These early forays into video gaming marked the beginning of a broader transformation from playing cards to electronic entertainment.

A watershed moment in Nintendo's history came with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985. The NES distinguished itself with a lockout chip that controlled which third-party games could run on the console, enabling Nintendo to exert greater influence over game licensing and quality during a time when the video game industry was recovering from the North American market crash of 1983. The NES's commercial success cemented Nintendo's position as a leading player in the video game industry.

Despite its transformation into a gaming powerhouse, Nintendo's origins as a playing card manufacturer remain evident. For context, the company's founding date places it ahead of the invention of sliced bread (1928), the Eiffel Tower's opening in 1889, and the discovery of penicillin (1928). It also outlived the Ottoman Empire, which formally dissolved in 1922, while also predating the popular introduction of chocolate chip cookies (1930s) and bubble wrap (1957).

Today, Nintendo's business is a multifaceted enterprise that extends far beyond gaming. The Switch console has sold nearly 157 million units worldwide, placing it among the best-selling video game consoles ever. The company's modern portfolio includes film productions, such as the successful Super Mario Bros. movies, live-action adaptations of its iconic game series, and themed attractions at theme parks operated in partnership with various venues.

Nintendo's evolution over the past 137 years reflects a strategic shift that began more than a century before the company became synonymous with video games, illustrating a remarkable ability to adapt and expand across diverse forms of entertainment.