Nintendo History: From Hanafuda Cards (1889) to Global Gaming Giant

1889: Fusajiro Yamauchi founds Nintendo Koppai in Kyoto, hand-painting Hanafuda (flower cards).

1947: Incorporated as Nintendo Playing Card Co. — dominates Japanese market.

1950s–60s: Diversifies: Disney-licensed cards, instant rice, love hotels, taxi service — most fail.

1966: Gunpei Yokoi hired; Ultra Hand toy sells 1.2M — pivot to toys.

1970s: Arcade (EVR Race, Donkey Kong 1981), Game & Watch (1980), Famicom (1983) → NES (1985) global phenomenon.

1990s: SNES, Game Boy, N64, Pokémon (1996) — handheld dominance.

2000s: GameCube, DS (dual-screen touch), Wii (motion) — 250M+ units.

2010s: 3DS, Wii U, Switch (2017) — hybrid concept, 140M+ sold.

2020s: Switch OLED, mobile (Mario Kart Tour, Fire Emblem Heroes), theme parks, movies — IP multimedia empire.

Core philosophy: "Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology" (Yokoi) — mature, cheap tech applied in novel ways.