How Nintendo went from handmade cards to Wii

Mario and Luigi trace their origins to a 19th-century craftsman shop that produced card decks popular in Yakuza-run gambling dens. Before it became a video game behemoth, Nintendo was a top supplier of traditional hand-painted Japanese playing cards, called Hanafuda, for six decades after its 1889 founding in Kyoto.

Gaming the system

It wasn’t until after its 1962 IPO that Nintendo began its foray into gaming devices (after a brief stint in instant rice and the taxi business). It moved from electronic toys that included a light beam gun and a device for young people to test how much they love each other, to coin-operated machines. But what made it a global household name was the 1981 release of the arcade classic Donkey Kong, which introduced the world to Mario.

Throughout the 1980s, the company prioritized iconic IP, quirky design, and competitive pricing to make its home gaming gadgets into playdate staples:

• It sold millions of handheld devices and consoles—like Nintendo Entertainment Systems and the long-battery-life Game Boy—that were simple and cheap to produce.
• These gizmos attracted devotees by serving as portals to beloved titles like The Legend of Zelda and Super Smash Bros., with game sales accounting for much of Nintendo’s profit.

The company’s IP-focused strategy and maverick console design powered its continued success after the turn of the century. The DS popularized touch-screen gaming, while the Wii’s motion-activated joystick meant that Mario Kart involved actual steering. The Switch, released in 2017, offered improved graphics and more functional handling, helping it compete with Xbox and PlayStation.

Today…Nintendo trails Sony’s PlayStation in the console market but commands a majority in physical game sales.—SK