OriginNintendo poster from late Meiji Era

Nintendo started out as a small Japanese company, founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi on September 23, 1889,[2] as Nintendo Koppai. Based in Kyoto, Japan, the business produced and marketed Hanafuda cards. The name "Nintendo" is commonly assumed to mean "leave luck to heaven", but there are no historical records to validate this assumption.[3] The cards, which were all handmade, soon began to gain popularity, and Yamauchi had to hire assistants to mass-produce cards to keep up with demand.

Fusajiro Yamauchi did not have a son to take over the family business. Following common Japanese tradition, he adopted his son-in-law, Sekiryo Yamauchi, (after the marriage). In 1929, Yamauchi retired from the company and allowed Sekiryo Yamauchi to take over the company as president. In 1933, Sekiryo Yamauchi established a joint venture with another company and renamed the company Yamauchi Nintendo & Co.

In 1947, Sekiryo established a distribution company, Marufuku Co., Ltd.,[4] to distribute the Hanafuda cards, as well as several other brands of cards that had been introduced by Nintendo. Sekiryo Yamauchi also had only daughters, so again his son-in-law (Shikanojo Inaba, renamed Shikanojo Yamauchi) was adopted into the family. Shikanojo never became president because he left his family. Subsequently, his son Hiroshi was brought up by his grandparents. Hiroshi later took over the company instead of his father.18891956: As a card companyThis section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (March 2012)A Nintendo hanafuda card, showing the company's logo at the time

In 1949 Hiroshi Yamauchi was attending Waseda University in Tokyo, however, after his grandfather died he left to take office as the president of Nintendo.[5] In 1951 he renamed "Marufuku Co. Ltd." to "Nintendo Playing Card Co., Ltd."[6][7] In 1953, Nintendo became the first company in Japan to produce playing cards from plastic.[8]

In 1956, Hiroshi Yamauchi visited the U.S., to engage in talks with the United States Playing Card Company, the dominant playing card manufacturer in the United States. Yamauchi was shocked to find that the world's biggest company in his business was relegated to using a small office. This was a turning point for Yamauchi, who then realized the limitations of the playing card business.[citation needed]

In 1959, Nintendo struck a deal with Disney to have them allow Nintendo to use Disney's characters on Nintendo's playing cards.[6] Previously, Western playing cards were regarded as something similar to hanafuda and mahjong: a device for gambling. By tying playing cards to Disney and selling books explaining the different games one could play with the cards, Nintendo could sell the product to Japanese households. The tie-in was a success and the company sold at least 600,000 card packs in a single year. Due to this success, in 1962, Yamauchi took Nintendo public, listing the company in Osaka Stock Exchange Second division.[7]

Following the aforementioned success, in 1963 Nintendo Playing Card Co., Ltd. was renamed to Nintendo Co., Ltd. by Hiroshi.[7] Nintendo now began to experiment in other areas of business using the newly injected capital. During the period of time between 1963 and 1968, Nintendo set up a taxi company, "love hotel" chain, food company (trying to sell instant rice, similar to instant noodles) and several other things[9] (including a vacuum cleaner, Chiritory, which later appeared as a two-player game in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ in 2003). All these ventures eventually failed, except toymaking, where they had some earlier experience from selling playing cards.[10] In 1964, while Japan was experiencing an economic boom due to the Tokyo Olympics, the playing card business reached its saturation point. Japanese households stopped buying playing cards, and the price of Nintendo stock fell from 900 yen to 60 yen.[citation needed]

In 1965, Nintendo hired Gunpei Yokoi as a maintenance engineer for the assembly line. However, Yokoi soon became famous for much more than his ability to repair conveyor belts.[11]19561972: Toy company and new ventures

Riddled with debt, Nintendo struggled to survive in the Japanese toy industry; it was still small at this point, and dominated by already well-established companies such as Bandai and Tomy. Because of the generally short product life cycle of toys, the company always had to come up with new products. This was the beginning of a major new era for Nintendo.

In 1966, Hiroshi Yamauchi was observing a hanafuda factory. He noticed an extending arm, which was made by one of their maintenance engineers, Gunpei Yokoi, for his own amusement. Yamauchi ordered Yokoi to develop it as a proper product for the Christmas rush. Released as "The Ultra Hand", it would become one of Nintendo's earliest toy blockbusters, selling over a million units. Seeing that Yokoi had promise, Hiroshi Yamauchi pulled him off assembly line work. Yokoi was soon moved from maintenance duty to product development.

Due to his electrical engineering background, it soon become apparent that Gunpei was quite adept at developing electronic toys. These devices had a much higher novelty value than traditional toys, allowing Nintendo to charge a higher price margin for each product. Yokoi went on to develop many other toys, including the Ten Billion Barrel puzzle, a baseball throwing machine called the Ultra Machine, and a Love Tester. Another invention of his, in collaboration with Masayuki Uemura from Sharp, was the Nintendo Beam Gun Game, the precursor to the NES Zapper.

Nintendo released the first solar-powered light gun, the Nintendo Beam Gun,[12] in 1970; this was the first commercially available light-gun for home use, produced in partnership with Sharp.[13]

In 1972, Nintendo released the Ele-Conga, one of the first programmable drum machines. It could play pre-programmed rhythms from disc-shaped punch cards, which could be altered or programmed by the user, to play different patterns.[14]1972-present: Electronic games

In 1972, the first commercially available video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, had a light gun accessory, the Shooting Gallery.[15] This was the first involvement of Nintendo in video games. According to Martin Picard in the International Journal of Computer Game Research: "in 1971, Nintendo had -- even before the marketing of the first home console in the United States -- an alliance with the American pioneer Magnavox to develop and produce optoelectronic guns for the Odyssey (released in 1972), since it was similar to what Nintendo was able to offer in the Japanese toy market in 1970s".[16]

In 1973, its focus shifted to family entertainment venues with the Laser Clay Shooting System,[17] using the same light gun technology used in Nintendo's Kousenjuu series of toys, and set up in abandoned bowling alleys. Following some success, Nintendo developed several more light gun machines for the emerging arcade scene. While the Laser Clay Shooting System ranges had to be shut down following excessive costs, Nintendo had found a new market.

In 1974, Nintendo secured the rights to distribute the Magnavox Odyssey video game console in Japan.Color TV GameMain article: Color TV GameNintendo's first video game system, the Color TV Game 6

Nintendo at this time saw how successful video games were and began to dabble in them. Their first step in that field was to secure the rights to distribute the Magnavox Odyssey in Japan, which they did in 1975. At the time, home video game consoles were extremely rareeven the seminal Atari Pong console had yet to be produced. After experiencing reasonable success at this, Nintendo began developing its own video games, both for the home and for arcades. In the 1970s, Mitsubishi Electric proposed joint development of "Color TV Game Machine". In 1977, they released "Color TV Game 6" and "Color TV Game 15" (6 and 15 indicates the number of games).[7]

Their first video arcade game was 1975's EVR Race;[18] a large handful of others followed in the next several years, Radar Scope and Donkey Kong being among the most famous of these. The early 1980s saw Nintendo's video game division (led by Yokoi) creating some of its most famous arcade titles. The massively popular Donkey Kong was created in 1981, with Shigeru Miyamoto as its mastermind, and released in the arcades and on the Atari 2600, Intellivision, and ColecoVision video game systems (although Nintendo themselves generally had no involvement with these early console ports). This release method would be used on several later Nintendo arcade games of this same period, including the original Mario Bros. (not to be confused with the later Super Mario Bros.) In addition to this arcade and dedicated console game activity, Nintendo was testing the consumer handheld video game waters with the Game & Watch.Game & Watch and Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom or Family Computer)Main articles: Game & Watch, Nintendo Entertainment System and History of the Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Famicom, released in 1983, sold well in Japan.

Game & Watch or G&W is a line of handheld electronic games produced by Nintendo from 1980 to 1991. Created by game designer Gunpei Yokoi, each Game & Watch features a single game to be played on an LCD screen in addition to a clock and/or an alarm. It was the earliest Nintendo product to garner major success, with 43.4 million units sold worldwide.[19]

In 1982 Nintendo developed a prototype system dubbed "The Advanced Video System" (or AVS for short) and had controllers much like the NES. There were accessories such as a tape drive, a joystick and a lightgun, and along with all of that, the system was made of a computer, much like the Atari 400, Commodore Vic-20 and Commodore 64. It was never released and is on display at the Nintendo World Store in New York. In July 1983, Nintendo released their Famicom (Family Computer) system in Japan, which was their first attempt at a cartridge-based video game console. The system sold over 500,000 units within two months at a price around $100 USD. However, after a few months of favorable sales, Nintendo received complaints that some Famicom consoles would freeze when the player attempted to play certain games. The fault was found in a malfunctioning chip and Nintendo decided to recall all Famicom units that were currently on store shelves, which ultimately cost them approximately half a million USD.

During this period, Nintendo rekindled their desire to release the Famicom in the US. Since the company had very little experience with the US market, they had previously attempted to contract with Atari for the system's distribution in 1983. However, a fiasco involving Coleco and Donkey Kong soured the relationship between the two during the negotiations, and Atari refused to back Nintendo's console. The video game crash of 1983 soon took out not only Atari, but the vast majority of the American market itself. Nintendo was on their own.The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), released in 1985, is one of the most popular consoles of all time.

Nintendo was determined not to make the same mistakes in the US that Atari had. Because of massive influxes of games that were regarded as some of the worst ever created, gaming had almost completely died out in America. Nintendo decided that to avoid facing the same problems, they would only allow games that received their "Seal of Quality" to be sold for the Famicom.

In 1985, Nintendo announced that they were releasing the Famicom worldwide with a different design under the name the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). They used a creative tactic to counter the bad view that the media was giving on video games, and released the NES with R.O.B. units that connected to the console and were synchronised to the games. To ensure the localization of the highest-quality games by third-party developers, Nintendo of America limited the number of game titles third-party developers could release in a single year to five. Konami, the first third-party company that was allowed to make cartridges for the Famicom, would later circumvent this rule by creating a spinoff company, Ultra Games, to release additional games in a single year. Other manufacturers soon employed the same tactic. Also in 1985, Super Mario Bros. was released for the Famicom in Japan and became a large success.

Nintendo test marketed the Nintendo Entertainment System in the New York area on October 18, 1985. They expanded the test to Los Angeles in February 1986, followed by tests in Chicago and San Francisco. They would go national by the end of 1986, along with 15 games, sold separately. In the US and Canada, it outsold its competitors by a wide margin. This was also the year that Metroid and Super Mario Bros. 2 (the Japanese version) were released. In 1987, The Legend of Zelda was released to much critical acclaim.

In 1988, Nintendo of America unveiled Nintendo Power, a monthly news and strategy magazine from Nintendo that served to advertise new games. The first issue published was the July/August edition, which spotlighted the NES game Super Mario Bros. 2. Nintendo Power has since ceased publication with its December 2012 edition.[20]Game Boy and Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemMain articles: Game Boy and Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe original Game Boy

In 1989, Nintendo (which had seen a large amount of success from the Game & Watch) released the Game Boy (both created by Gunpei Yokoi), along with the accompanying game Tetris. Due to the price, the game and its durability (unlike the prior Microvision from Milton Bradley Company, which was prone to static and screen rot), the Game Boy line sold extremely well, eventually amassing sales of 118 million.[21] Later, Super Mario Land was also released for the Game Boy, which sold 14 million copies worldwide. 1989 was also the year that Nintendo announced a sequel to the Famicom, to be called the Super Famicom.

The last major first-party game for the NES, Super Mario Bros. 3, was released in early 1990, and went on to sell over 18 million units.[22] It was followed by a licensed television adaption named The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, which was released by DIC Entertainment and Viacom Enterprises in that year to capitalise on the game's immense popularity.

The Super Famicom was released in Japan on November 21, 1990. The system's launch was widely successful, and the Super Famicom was sold out across Japan within three days, selling 1.6 million units by June 1991.[23] In August 1991, the Super Famicom was launched in the US under the name "Super Nintendo Entertainment System" (SNES), followed by Europe in 1992.[24]

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System followed in the steps of its predecessor, with high technical specifications for its era. The controller of the SNES had also improved over that of the NES, as it now had rounded edges and four new buttons, a standard which is evident on many modern controllers today.The original North American SNES, c. 1991

Nintendo had also begun development on a CD-ROM attachment for the SNES/Super Famicom. Their first partner in this project was Sony, whom Nintendo had worked with before to provide the SNES with its SPC sound chip. Development on the Nintendo PlayStation CD-ROM add-on and SNES/SFC standalone hybrid console began. However, at the last minute Nintendo decided to pull out of the partnership and instead go with Philips, and while no CD-ROM add-on was produced, several Nintendo properties (namely The Legend of Zelda) appeared on the Philips CD-i media console. Upon learning this, Sony decided to continue developing the technology they had into the PlayStation. The exact reason Nintendo left its partnership with Sony has been the subject of speculation over the years, but the most common theory is that Sony either wanted too much of the profits for the machine or the rights to the CD-ROM attachment itself.

In Japan, the Super Famicom easily took control of the gaming market. In the US, due to a late start and an aggressive marketing campaign by Sega (Headed by the Sega Company's new mascot, Sonic The Hedgehog, their answer to Nintendo's Super Mario), Nintendo saw its market share take a precipitous plunge from 90-95% with the NES to a low of approximately 35% against the Sega Genesis. Over the course of several years, the SNES in North America eventually overtook the Genesis, thanks to franchise titles such as Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Street Fighter II, and the Final Fantasy series. Total worldwide sales of the SNES reached 49.10 million units,[21] eclipsing the estimated 40 million unit sales of the Genesis.[25]

As the SNES battled the Sega Genesis, Nintendo was running into problems on another front caused by their own aggressive marketing behavior. In 1991, Nintendo agreed to a settlement regarding price-fixing allegations brought by the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general in New York and Maryland. Nintendo had been accused of threatening to cut off shipments of the NES to retailers who discounted the price of the system. The estimated cost of the settlement was just under $30 million.[26]

In 1992, Gunpei Yokoi and the rest of R&D 1 began planning on a new virtual reality console to be called the Virtual Boy. Hiroshi Yamauchi also bought majority shares of the Seattle Mariners in 1992.[27] By May 1993, Nintendo had reportedly become one of the top ten leading companies in the world.[28]

In 1993, Nintendo announced plans to develop a new 64-bit console codenamed Project Reality that would be capable of rendering fully 3D environments and characters. In 1994, Nintendo also claimed that Project Reality would be renamed Ultra 64 in the US. The Ultra 64 moniker was unveiled in arcades on the Nintendo branded fighting game Killer Instinct and the racing game Cruisin' USA. Killer Instinct was later released on the SNES. Soon after, Nintendo realized they had mistakenly chosen a name for their new console that the Konami corporation owned the rights to. Specifically, only Konami would have the rights to release games for the new system called Ultra Football, Ultra Tennis, etc. Therefore, in 1995 Nintendo changed the final name of the system to the Nintendo 64, and announced that it would be released in 1996. They later showed previews of the system and several games, including Super Mario 64, to the media and public. 1995 is also the year that Nintendo purchased part of Rare.

In 1994, after many years of Nintendo's products being distributed in Australia by Mattel since the NES in 1985, Nintendo Co., Ltd opened its Australian headquarters and its first Managing Directors were Graham Kerry, who moved along from Mattel Australia as Managing Director and Susumu Tanaka of Nintendo UK Ltd.

In 1995, Nintendo released the Virtual Boy in Japan. The console sold poorly, but Nintendo still said they had hope for it and continued to release several other games and attempted a release in the US, which was another disaster.

Also in 1995, Nintendo found themselves in a competitive situation. Competitor Sega introduced their 32-bit Saturn, while newcomer Sony introduced the 32-bit PlayStation. Sony's fierce marketing campaigns ensued, and it started to cut into Nintendo and Sega's market share.Nintendo 64 and Game Boy ColorMain articles: Nintendo 64 and Game Boy ColorNintendo 64 black console with blank game cartridge and grey controller

On June 23, 1996, the Nintendo 64 (N64) was released in Japan, selling over 500,000 units on the first day of its release.[17] On September 29, 1996, Nintendo released the Nintendo 64 in North America, selling out the initial shipment of 350,000.[17] Many feel that the advertising onslaught by Sony at this time did not truly begin to take effect until many of the consumers who held out for the N64 became frustrated at the lack of software following the first few months after the system's release. What also greatly contributed to the extremely competitive climate that Nintendo was entrenched in was the fact that many third-party companies immediately began developing and releasing many of their leading games for Nintendo's competing consoles. Many of those third party companies cited cheaper development and manufacturing costs for the CD format, versus the cartridge format. On December 1, 1999, Nintendo released an add-on to the Nintendo 64 in Japan, titled the Nintendo 64DD, although it was never released elsewhere.

Nintendo followed with the release of the Game Boy Pocket, a smaller version of the original Game Boy, designed by Gunpei Yokoi as a parting gift. A week after the release of the Game Boy Pocket, Gunpei resigned from his position at Nintendo. Gunpei helped in the creation of a competitor system named the WonderSwan, using the skills he gained in the creation of the Game Boy.

In 1996, Pocket Monsters (known internationally as "Pokmon") was released in Japan to a huge following. The Pokmon franchise, created by Satoshi Tajiri, was proving so popular in America, Europe, and Japan, that for a brief time, Nintendo took back their place as the supreme power in the games industry.

In 1997, Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi died in a car accident at the age of 56.[11]

On October 13, 1998, the Game Boy Color was released in Japan, with releases in North America and Europe a month later.Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCubeMain articles: Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCubeNintendo GameCube with controller and 251-block memory card

Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance in Japan on March 21, 2001, followed by the North American launch on June 11 and the European launch on June 22.

Nintendo released the Nintendo GameCube home video game console on September 14, 2001, in Japan. It was released in North America on November 18, 2001, Europe on May 3, 2002, and Australia on May 17, 2002.

In January 2002, Minoru Arakawa resigned as president of Nintendo of America, and Nintendo named Tatsumi Kimishima as his successor.[29]

In May 2002, Hiroshi Yamauchi stepped down as the president of Nintendo and named Satoru Iwata his successor.[30]

During the same year, Nintendo and Chinese-American scientist Dr Wei Yen co-founded iQue to manufacture and distribute official Nintendo consoles and games for the mainland Chinese market under the iQue brand.[31] Nintendo's aggressive business tactics in Europe would catch up to them. The European Commission determined that Nintendo had engaged in anticompetitive price-fixing business practices dating at least as far back as the early 1990s. This resulted in a heavy fine being laid against the company 149 million, one of the largest antitrust fines applied in the history of the commission.[32]Nintendo DS and WiiMain articles: Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS Lite, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo DSi XL and WiiNintendo DS Lite in its opened position

In May 2004, Nintendo announced plans to release a new brand of handheld, unrelated to the Game Boy, featuring two screens, one of which was touch-sensitive. The Nintendo DS, released on November 21, 2004, received over three million pre-orders. In addition to the touch screen, the DS can also create three-dimensional graphics, similar to those of the Nintendo 64, although its lack of hardware support for texture filtering results in more pixelated graphics than on the Nintendo 64.

President Satoru Iwata reassigned all of Nintendo's software designers under new managers and different division; most of the resources were allocated to Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka and the Nintendo EAD department (see Nintendo development divisions for more information).

On May 14, 2005, Nintendo opened its first retail store accessible to the general public, Nintendo World Store, at the Rockefeller Center in New York City. It consists of two stories, and contains many kiosks of GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS games. There are also display cases filled with things from Nintendo's past, including Hanafuda playing cards, Nintendo's first product. They celebrated the opening with a block party at Rockefeller Plaza.

At E3 in May 2005, Nintendo displayed the first prototype for their "next-generation" system, codenamed the Nintendo Revolution (now known as the Wii), its controller revealed at the Tokyo Game Show later that year.

On January 26, 2006, Nintendo announced a new version of their Nintendo DS handheld, the Nintendo DS Lite, designed to be smaller and lighter, with a brighter screen. It was launched in Japan on March 2, 2006, and three months later in North America and Europe on June 11 and June 23, 2006, respectively.

On May 25, 2006, Reggie Fils-Aime was promoted to President and COO of Nintendo of America, Inc. The former President, Tatsumi Kimishima, was promoted to Chairman of the Board and CEO.[33]

On July 7, 2006, Nintendo officially established a South Korean subsidiary, Nintendo Korea, in the country's capital, Seoul, which replaced Daewon Media as the official distributor of Nintendo products in South Korea.[34]Original Wii console with Wii Remote

In early August 2006, it was revealed that the Nintendo, along with Microsoft, was the target of a patent-infringement lawsuit. Leveled by the Anascape Ltd., the suit claimed that Nintendo's use of analog technology in their game controllers constitutes a violation of their patents. The lawsuit sought to recover damages from both corporations and possibly force them to stop selling controllers with the violating technology.[35] Microsoft settled with Anasacape, while Nintendo went to trial, initially losing and being ordered to pay US$21 million in damages.[36] Nintendo appealed, and on April 23, 2010 the Federal Circuit reversed the ruling.[37] In November 2010, Anascape's appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States was denied.[38]

In mid-September 2006, during press conferences held in Tokyo, New York, and London on 13, 14 and 15 September, respectively, Nintendo announced launch details for its Wii console, as well as demonstrated features of the "Wii Menu" GUI. The system was first released on November 19, 2006 in the US, followed by the Japanese launch on December 2, the Australian launch on December 6, and the European launch on December 8.[39]

The console sold fast and was a big breakthrough for Nintendo,[40] picking up the pace lost from their last console, the Nintendo GameCube. The success of the Wii has been attributed to the intended market of the product; while at the time most competitors were focusing on more adult and fan-based games, Nintendo decided to release a console for a larger demographic, one including casual gamers, children and those who wouldn't ordinarily play video games. Since no other major gaming console was marketing for this image, these other companies were caught mostly unprepared by the success of the Wii system, and it wasn't until 2010 that the PlayStation and Xbox released consoles opting for the same image as the Nintendo Wii.[41]

On September 17, 2007, Nintendo of America closed its official forums, the NSider Forums, indefinitely due to a major overhaul of their site. For months prior, cutbacks in Nintendo of America's online department led to the trimming back of NSider's chat hours and the replacement of their annual Camp Hyrule event held during August with a sweepstakes. In the meantime, Nintendo encouraged fans to run their own forums. Nintendo-Europe's forum section of their site was also officially closed down a week later due to a site revamp, however it had been offline citing "security issues" since June of that year. On December 19, 2007, Nintendo opened new technical support forums, but discussion is now limited to technical support.

In October 2007, Nintendo Co., Ltd announced Nintendo Australia's new Managing Director, Rose Lappin. She is Nintendo's first female head of one of its subsidiaries and worked for Nintendo before it started in Australia as Director of Sales and Marketing for Mattel and had that role until she was announced Managing Director.

On November 1, 2008, Nintendo Co., Ltd released an updated version of the Nintendo DS Lite in Japan; the Nintendo DSi. It includes all features of the Nintendo DS Lite, but it includes a camera on the inside and outside of the system, and newer features. It is the first handheld game system manufactured by Nintendo that allows downloadable gaming content to the system. The Nintendo DSi was released April 2, 2009, in Australia and Asia, April 3, 2009, in Europe, and April 5, 2009, in North America.Nintendo 3DS and Wii UMain articles: Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL and Wii UThe Wii U console with Wii U GamePad

On February 26, 2011, the Nintendo 3DS was released in Japan. It was released on March 25 and 27 to Europe and the US, respectively. The 3DS was part of a large wave of 3D technologies being released at the time; unlike most of these, the 3DS did not use 3D Glasses for its 3D effect, and instead used parallax barrier autostereoscopy.

On April 25, 2011, Nintendo confirmed that they were making a new console to be released in 2012.[42] On June 7, 2011, the console was announced as being named the Wii U. The Wii U is critically acclaimed as Nintendo's first console to be able to play video games in 1080p HD. During the Electronics Entertainment Expo in 2011, Nintendo's press conference put a great amount of stress on the abilities and innovations of the new controller, a unit resembling a tablet.

Many gamers were confused after the press conference about whether the Wii U is an entirely new system or just a new controller for the Wii. The Wii U was, however, a whole new home console system developed by Nintendo. The system was released on November 18, 2012 in North America, November 30, 2012 in Europe and Australia, and on December 8, 2012 in Japan.[43][44] It featured a new controller with a 6.2 inch touchscreen, two thumb pads, four shoulder buttons, a directional pad, and four lettered buttons. It also featured an accelerometer, gyroscope, camera, Near Field Communications (NFC), and built-in microphone, similar those in the Nintendo 3DS.

18891956: As a card companyFormer headquarters plate, from when Nintendo was solely a playing card company

Nintendo was founded as a card company in late 1889, later (1951) named Nintendo Koppai (Nintendo Playing Card Co. Ltd.), by Fusajiro Yamauchi Based in Kyoto, Japan, the business produced and marketed a playing card game called Hanafuda. The handmade cards soon became popular, and Yamauchi hired assistants to mass-produce cards to satisfy demand. Nintendo now continues to manufacture playing cards in Japan[14] and organizes its own contract bridge tournament called the "Nintendo Cup".[15]19561974: New venturesThe Love Tester, one of Nintendo's experimental toys.

In 1956, Hiroshi Yamauchi, grandson of Fusajiro Yamauchi, visited the U.S. to talk with the United States Playing Card Company, the dominant playing card manufacturer there. He found that the biggest playing card company in the world was using only a small office. Yamauchi's realization that the playing card business had limited potential was a turning point. He then acquired the license to use Disney characters on playing cards to drive sales.

In 1963, Yamauchi renamed Nintendo Playing Card Co. Ltd. to Nintendo Co., Ltd.[16] The company then began to experiment in other areas of business using newly injected capital. During this period of time between 1963 and 1968, Nintendo set up a taxi company, a love hotel chain, a TV network, a food company (selling instant rice) and several other ventures.[citation needed] All of these ventures eventually failed, and after the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, playing card sales dropped, and Nintendo's stock price plummeted to 60.[citation needed]

In 1966, Nintendo moved into the Japanese toy industry with the Ultra Hand, an extendable arm developed by its maintenance engineer Gunpei Yokoi in his free time. Yokoi was moved from maintenance to the new "Nintendo Games" department as a product developer. Nintendo continued to produce popular toys, including the Ultra Machine, Love Tester and the Kousenjuu series of light gun games. Despite some successful products, Nintendo struggled to meet the fast development and manufacturing turnaround required in the toy market, and fell behind the well-established companies such as Bandai and Tomy.

In 1973, its focus shifted to family entertainment venues with the Laser Clay Shooting System, using the same light gun technology used in Nintendo's Kousenjuu series of toys, and set up in abandoned bowling alleys. Following some success, Nintendo developed several more light gun machines (such as the light gun shooter game Wild Gunman) for the emerging arcade scene. While the Laser Clay Shooting System ranges had to be shut down following excessive costs, Nintendo had found a new market.19741978: Early electronic era

Nintendo's first venture into the video gaming industry was securing rights to distribute the Magnavox Odyssey video game console in Japan in 1974. Nintendo began to produce its own hardware in 1977, with the Color TV-Game home video game consoles. Four versions of these consoles were produced, each including variations of a single game (for example, Color TV Game 6 featured six versions of Light Tennis).

A student product developer named Shigeru Miyamoto was hired by Nintendo at this time.[17] He worked for Yokoi, and one of his first tasks was to design the casing for several of the Color TV Game consoles. Miyamoto went on to create, direct and produce some of Nintendo's most famous video games and become one of the most recognizable figures in the video game industry.[17]

In 1975, Nintendo moved into the video arcade game industry with EVR Race, designed by their first game designer, Genyo Takeda,[18] and several more titles followed. Nintendo had some small success with this venture, but the release of Donkey Kong in 1981, designed by Miyamoto, changed Nintendo's fortunes dramatically. The success of the game and many licensing opportunities (such as ports on the Atari 2600, Intellivision and ColecoVision) gave Nintendo a huge boost in profit and in addition, the game also introduced an early iteration of Mario, known then as Jumpman, the eventual mascot of the company.19792003: Success with video gamesThe Game & Watch series was Nintendo's first worldwide success in video game consoles.

In 1979, Gunpei Yokoi conceived the idea of a handheld video game, while observing a fellow bullet train commuter who passed the time by interacting idly with a portable LCD calculator, which gave birth to Game & Watch.[19] In 1980, Nintendo launched Game & Watcha handheld video game series developed by Yokoi. These systems do not contain interchangeable cartridges and thus the hardware was tied to the game. The first Game & Watch game released, titled Ball, was distributed worldwide. The modern "cross" D-pad design was developed in 1982, by Yokoi for a Donkey Kong version. Proven to be popular, the design was patented by Nintendo. It later earned a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award.[20][21]

In 1983, Nintendo launched the Family Computer (colloquialized as "Famicom") home video game console in Japan, alongside ports of its most popular arcade titles. In 1985, a cosmetically reworked version of the system known outside of Japan as the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES, launched in North America. The practice of bundling the system along with select games helped to make Super Mario Bros. one of the best-selling video games in history.[22]

In 1988, Gunpei Yokoi and his team at Nintendo R&D1 conceived the new Game Boy handheld system, with the purpose of merging the two very successful ideas of the Game & Watch's portability along with the NES's cartridge interchangeability. Nintendo released the Game Boy in Japan on April 21, 1989, and in North America on July 31, 1989. Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa managed a deal to bundle the popular third party game Tetris along with the Game Boy, and the pair launched as an instant success.

In 1989, Nintendo announced plans to release the successor to the Famicom, the Super Famicom. Based on a 16-bit processor, Nintendo boasted significantly superior hardware specifications of graphics, sound, and game speed over the original 8-bit Famicom. The system was also said to have backwards compatibility with Famicom games, though this feature was ultimately cut upon release. The Super Famicom was finally released relatively late to the market in Japan on November 21, 1990, and released as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (abbreviated to SNES or Super Nintendo) in North America on August 23, 1991 and in Europe in 1992. Its main rival was the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive, known in North America as Sega Genesis, which had been advertised aggressively against the nascent 8-bit NES. A console war between Sega and Nintendo ensued during the early 1990s.[23] From 1990 to 1992, Nintendo opened World of Nintendo shops in the United States where consumers could test and buy Nintendo products.

In August 1993, Nintendo announced the SNES's successor, code-named Project Reality. Featuring 64-bit graphics, the new system was developed as a joint venture between Nintendo and North-American-based technology company Silicon Graphics. The system was announced to be released by the end of 1995, but was subsequently delayed. Meanwhile, Nintendo continued the Nintendo Entertainment System family with the release of the NES-101, a smaller redesign of the original NES. Nintendo also announced a CD drive peripheral called the SNES-CD, which was co-developed first by Sony with the name "Play Station" and then by Philips. Bearing prototypes and joint announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show, it was on track for a 1994 release, but was controversially cancelled.

During the same year, Nintendo announced that it had sold one billion game cartridges worldwide, one tenth of it being from the Mario franchise. This prompted Nintendo to deem 1994 the "Year of the Cartridge". To further their support for cartridges, Nintendo announced that Project Reality, which had now been renamed the Ultra 64, would not use a CD format as expected, but would rather use cartridges as its primary media format. Nintendo IRD general manager Genyo Takeda was impressed by video game development company Rare Ltd.'s progress with real-time 3D graphics technology, using state of the art Silicon Graphics workstations. As a result, Nintendo bought a 25% stake in the company, eventually expanding to 49%, and offered their catalogue of characters to create a CGI game around, making Rare a Nintendo's first western-based second-party developer.[24] Their first game as partners with Nintendo was Donkey Kong Country. The game was a critical success and sold over eight million copies worldwide, making it the second best-selling game in the SNES library.[24] In September 1994, Nintendo, along with six other video game giants including Sega, Electronic Arts, Atari, Acclaim, Philips, and 3DO approached the United States Senate and demanded a ratings system for video games to be enforced, with prompted the decision to create the Entertainment Software Rating Board.

Aiming to produce an affordable virtual reality console, Nintendo released the Virtual Boy in 1995, designed by Gunpei Yokoi. The console consists of a head-mounted semi-portable system with one red-colored screen for each of the user's eyes, featuring stereoscopic graphics. Games are viewed through a binocular eyepiece and controlled using an affixed gamepad. Critics were generally disappointed with the quality of the games and the red-colored graphics, and complained of gameplay-induced headaches.[25] The system sold poorly and was quietly discontinued.[26] Amid the system's failure, Yokoi retired from Nintendo.[27] During the same year, Nintendo launched the Satellaview in Japan, a peripheral for the Super Famicom. The accessory allowed users to play video games via broadcast for a set period of time. Various games were made exclusively for the platform, as well as various remakes.

In 1996, Nintendo released the Ultra 64 as the Nintendo 64 in Japan and North America. The console was later released in Europe and Australia in 1997. Despite the limitations set by using cartridges, the technical specifications of the Nintendo 64 surpassed its competitors. With its market shares slipping to the Sega Saturn and partner-turned-rival Sony PlayStation, Nintendo revitalized its brand by launching a $185 million marketing campaign centered around the "Play it Loud" slogan.[28] During the same year, Nintendo also released the Game Boy Pocket in Japan, a smaller version of the Game Boy that generated more sales for the platform. On October 4, 1996, famed Nintendo developer Gunpei Yokoi died in a car crash. In 1997, Nintendo released the SNS-101 (called Super Famicom Jr. in Japan), a smaller redesigned version of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

In 1998, the successor to the Game Boy, the Game Boy Color, was released. The system had improved technical specifications allowing it to run games made specifically for the system as well as games released for the Game Boy, albeit with added color. The Game Boy Camera and Printer were also released as accessories. In October 1998, Retro Studios was founded as an alliance between Nintendo and former Iguana Entertainment founder Jeff Spangenberg. Nintendo saw an opportunity for the new studio to create games for the upcoming GameCube targeting an older demographic, in the same vein as Iguana Entertainment's successful Turok series for the Nintendo 64.[29]

In 2001, just three years later, Nintendo introduced the totally redesigned Game Boy Advance. The same year, Nintendo also released the GameCube to lukewarm sales, and it ultimately failed to regain the market share lost by the Nintendo 64.

In 2003, Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance SP, its fourth handheld system.2004-2011: Nintendo DS and Wii

In 2004, Nintendo released the Nintendo DS, its fourth major handheld system. The DS is a dual screened handheld featuring touch screen capabilities, which respond to either a stylus or the touch of a finger. Former Nintendo president and now chairman Hiroshi Yamauchi was translated by GameScience as explaining, "If we can increase the scope of the industry, we can re-energise the global market and lift Japan out of depression - that is Nintendo's mission.". Regarding lukewarm GameCube sales which had yielded the company's first reported operating loss in over 100 years, Yamauchi continued: "The DS represents a critical moment for Nintendo's success over the next two years. If it succeeds, we rise to the heavens, if it fails, we sink into hell."[30][31][32] Thanks to titles such as Nintendogs and Mario Kart DS, the DS became a success. In 2005, Nintendo released the Game Boy Micro in North America, a redesign of the Game Boy Advance. The last system in the Game Boy line, it was also the smallest Game Boy, and the least successful. In the middle of 2005, Nintendo opened the Nintendo World Store in New York City, which would sell Nintendo games, present a museum of Nintendo history, and host public parties such as for product launches.The Wii Remote, along with the Wii, was said to be revolutionary because of its motion detection capabilities.

In the first half of 2006, Nintendo released the Nintendo DS Lite, a version of the original Nintendo DS with lighter weight, brighter screen, and better battery life. In addition to this streamlined design, its prolific subset of casual games appealed to the masses, such as the Brain Age series. Meanwhile, New Super Mario Bros. provided a substantial addition to the Mario series when it was launched to the top of sales charts. The successful direction of the Nintendo DS had a big influence on Nintendo's next home console, which had been code named "Revolution" and was now renamed to "Wii".

In the latter half of 2006, Nintendo released the Wii as the backwards-compatible successor to the GameCube. Based upon intricate Wii Remote motion controls and a balance board, the Wii inspired several new game franchises, some targeted at entirely new market segments of casual and fitness gaming. At over 100 million units, the Wii is the best selling console of the seventh generation, regaining the market share lost during the tenures of the Nintendo 64 and the GameCube.

On May 1, 2007, Nintendo acquired an 80% stake on video game development company Monolith Soft, previously owned by Bandai Namco. Monolith Soft is best known for developing role-playing games such as the Xenosaga and Baten Kaitos series.[33]

During the holiday season of 2008, Nintendo followed up the success of the DS Lite with the release of the Nintendo DSi in Japan. The system features two cameras, one facing towards the player and one facing outwards, and had an online distribution store called DSiWare. The DSi was later released worldwide during 2009. In the latter half of 2009, Nintendo released the Nintendo DSi XL in Japan, a larger version of the DSi. This updated system was later released worldwide in 2010.2011-present: Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

In 2011, Nintendo greatly expanded the DS legacy by releasing the Nintendo 3DS, based upon a glasses-free 3D display.

In February 2012, Nintendo acquired Mobiclip, a France-based research and development company specialized in highly optimized software technologies such as video compression. The company's name was later changed to Nintendo European Research & Development.[34] During the fourth quarter of 2012, Nintendo released the Wii U. It sold slower than expected,[35] although being the first eighth generation console. By September 2013, however, sales had rebounded.[clarification needed] Intending to broaden the 3DS market, Nintendo released 2013's cost-reduced Nintendo 2DS. The 2DS is completely compatible but lacks the 3DS's more expensive but cosmetic autostereoscopic 3D feature. Nintendo also released the Wii Mini, a cheaper and non-networked redesign of the Wii.2013 onward: Mobile, QOL, and the NX

On September 25, 2013, Nintendo announced it had purchased a 28% stake in a Panasonic spin-off company called PUX Corporation. The company specializes in face and voice recognition technology, with which Nintendo intends to improve the usability of future game systems. Nintendo has also worked with this company in the past to create character recognition software for a Nintendo DS touchscreen.[36] After announcing a 30% dive in profits for the April to December 2013 period, President Satoru Iwata announced he would take a 50% pay-cut, with other executives seeing reductions by 20%-30%.[37] During a May 7, 2014, investors' meeting, Nintendo confirmed that it had spent over $150 million on an acquisition of an unspecified, non-Japanese, non-gaming, technology company.[38] In January 2015, Nintendo announced its exit from the Brazilian market after four years of distributing products in the country. Nintendo cited high import duties and lack of local manufacturing operation as reasons for leaving. Nintendo continues its partnership with Juegos de Video Latinoamrica to distribute products to rest of Latin America.[39]

In March 2015, Nintendo announced that they would team up with Japanese mobile company DeNA to produce games for smart devices.[40] On the same day Nintendo also announced a new "dedicated games platform with a brand new concept" under the codename "NX" that would be further revealed in 2016.[41]ProductsHome consolesNintendo Entertainment System/Famicom Disk SystemMain article: Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo's first major success in the home console market.

The Nintendo Entertainment System (abbreviated as NES or Nintendo) is an 8-bit video game console, which released in North America in 1985, and in Europe throughout 1986 and 1987. The console was initially released in Japan as the Family Computer (abbreviated as Famicom) in 1983. The best-selling gaming console of its time,[42]e[] the NES helped revitalize the US video game industry following the video game crash of 1983.[43] With the NES, Nintendo introduced a now-standard business model of licensing third-party developers, authorizing them to produce and distribute titles for Nintendo's platform.[44] The NES was bundled with Super Mario Bros., one of the best-selling video games of all time, and received ports of Nintendo's most popular arcade titles.[22] As of March 31, 2014, Nintendo reports sales of 61.91 million NES hardware units and 500.01 million NES software units worldwide.[4]Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemMain article: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (abbreviated as SNES, Super NES or Super Nintendo) is a 16-bit video game console, which was released in North America in 1991, and in Europe in 1992. The console was initially released in Japan in 1990 as the Super Famicom, officially adopting the colloquially abbreviated name of its predecessor. The console introduced advanced graphics and sound capabilities compared with other consoles at the time. Soon, the development of a variety of enhancement chips which were integrated onto each new game cartridge's circuit boards, progressed the SNES's competitive edge. While even crude three-dimensional graphics had previously rarely been seen on home consoles,[45] the SNES's enhancement chips suddenly enabled a new caliber of games containing increasingly sophisticated faux 3D effects as seen in 1991's Pilotwings and 1992's Super Mario Kart, and then fundamentally three-dimensional worlds beginning with 1993's SuperFX-powered Star Fox game.[46] This platform-enhancing development in cartridge technology sparked the industry's increasingly widespread interest in polygon graphics, helping to usher in a fundamental shift to 3D graphics as seen in the next generation.[47] The SNES is the best-selling console of the 16-bit era although having experienced a relatively late start and fierce competition from Sega's Genesis/Mega Drive console. As of March 31, 2014, Nintendo reports sales of 49.10 million SNES hardware units and 379.06 million SNES software units worldwide.[4]Nintendo 64Main article: Nintendo 64

The Nintendo 64 was released in 1996, featuring 3D polygon model rendering capabilities and built-in multiplayer for up to four players. The system's controller introduced the analog stick and later introduced the Rumble Pak, an accessory for the controller that produces force feedback with compatible games. Both are the first such features to have come to market for home console gaming and eventually became the de facto industry standard.[48] Announced in 1995, prior to the console's 1996 launch, the 64DD ("DD" standing for "Disk Drive") was designed to enable the development of new genre of video games[49] by way of 64 MB writable magnetic disks, video editing, and Internet connectivity. Eventually released only in Japan in 1999, the 64DD peripheral's commercial failure there resulted in only nine games being released and precluded further worldwide release.GameCubeMain article: GameCube

The GameCube (officially called Nintendo GameCube, abbreviated NGC in Japan and GCN in North America) was released in 2001, in Japan and North America, and in 2002 worldwide. The sixth-generation console is the successor to the Nintendo 64 and competed with Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox, and Sega's Dreamcast. The GameCube is the first Nintendo console to use optical discs as its primary storage medium.[50] The discs are similar to the miniDVD format, but the system was not designed to play standard DVDs or audio CDs. Nintendo introduced a variety of connectivity options for the GameCube. The GameCube's game library has sparse support for Internet gaming, a feature that requires the use of the aftermarket Nintendo GameCube Broadband Adapter and Modem Adapter. The GameCube supports connectivity to the Game Boy Advance, allowing players to access exclusive in-game features using the handheld as a second screen and controller. As of March 31, 2014, Nintendo reports sales of 21.74 million GameCube hardware units and 208.57 million GameCube software units worldwide.[4]WiiMain article: WiiThe Wii, Nintendo's best selling home video game console.

The Wii was released during the holiday season of 2006 worldwide. The system the Wii Remote controller, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and which detects movement in three dimensions. Another notable feature of the console is WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode.[51] It also features a game download service, called "Virtual Console", which features emulated games from past systems. Since its release, the Wii has spawned many peripheral devices, including the Wii Balance Board and Motion Plus, and has had several hardware revisions. The Wii Family Edition variant is identical to the original model, but is designed to sit horizontally and removes the GameCube compatibility. The Wii Mini is a smaller, redesigned Wii which lacks GameCube compatibility, online connectivity, the SD card slot and Wi-Fi support, and has only one USB port unlike the previous models' two.[52][53] As of March 31, 2014, Nintendo reports sales of 101.06 million Wii hardware units and 895.22 million Wii software units worldwide, making it Nintendo's best-selling home video game console.[4]Wii UMain article: Wii U

The Wii U, the successor to the Wii, was released during the holiday season of 2012 worldwide.[54][55] The Wii U is the first Nintendo console to support high-definition graphics. The Wii U's primary controller is the Wii U GamePad, which features an embedded touchscreen. Each software title may be designed to utilize this touchscreen as being supplemental to the main TV, or as the only screen for Off-TV Play. The system supports most Wii controllers and accessories, and the more classically shaped Wii U Pro Controller.[56] The system is backward compatible with Wii software and accessories; this mode also utilizes Wii-based controllers, and it optionally offers the GamePad as its primary Wii display and motion sensor bar. The console has various online services powered by Nintendo Network, including: the Nintendo eShop for online distribution of software and content; and Miiverse, a social network which can be variously integrated with games and applications. As of December 2014, worldwide Wii U sales had totaled 9.20 million hardware units and 52.87 million software units.[57]Handheld consolesGame & WatchMain article: Game & Watch[icon] This section requires expansion. (March 2014)

Game and Watch is a handheld line produced from 1980 to 1991 by Gunpei Yokoi. It features a single game and a clock and/or alarm.Game BoyMain article: Game Boy line

After the success of the Game & Watch series, Yokoi developed the Game Boy handheld console, which was released in 1989. Eventually becoming the best-selling handheld of all time, the Game Boy remained dominant for more than a decade, seeing critically and commercially popular games such as Pokmon Yellow released as late as 1998 in Japan and 2000 in Europe. Incremental updates of the Game Boy, including Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light and Game Boy Color, did little to change the original formula, though the latter introduced color graphics to the Game Boy line.

The first major update to its handheld line since 1989, Game Boy Advance features improved technical specifications similar to those of the SNES. The Game Boy Advance SP was the first revision to the GBA line and introduced screen lighting and a clam shell design, while later iteration, the Game Boy Micro, brought a smaller form factor.The Nintendo DS Lite is the best-selling handheld console of all time.Nintendo DSMain articles: Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS line

Although originally advertised as an alternative to the Game Boy Advance, the Nintendo DS replaced the Game Boy line after its initial release in 2004.[58] It was distinctive for its dual screens and a microphone, as well as a touch-sensitive lower screen. The Nintendo DS Lite brought a smaller form factor[59] while the Nintendo DSi features larger screens and two cameras,[60] and was followed by an even larger model, the Nintendo DSi XL, with a 90% bigger screen.[61]Nintendo 3DSMain article: Nintendo 3DS

Further expanding the Nintendo DS line, the Nintendo 3DS uses the process of autostereoscopy to produce a stereoscopic three-dimensional effect without glasses.[62] Released to major markets during 2011, the 3DS got off to a slow start, initially missing many key features that were promised before the system launched.[63] Partially as a result of slow sales, Nintendo stock declined in value. Subsequent price cuts and game releases helped to boost 3DS and 3DS software sales and to renew investor confidence in the company.[64] As of August 2013, the 3DS was the best selling console in the United States for four consecutive months.[65] The Nintendo 3DS XL was introduced in August 2012 and includes a 90% larger screen, a 4GB SD card and extended battery life. In August 2013, Nintendo announced the cost-reduced Nintendo 2DS, a version of the 3DS without an autostereoscopic 3D screen. It has a slate-like design as opposed to the hinged, clamshell design of its DS-line predecessors. The 2DS was released on October 12, 2013 in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, although no Japanese release has been announced.

In August 2014, it was announced that Japan would receive a new 3DS called "New 3DS" with extra shoulder buttons, a right analogue stick, faster processor, compatibility with Amiibo and other changes. It was released in October 2014.SoftwareSee also: List of products published by NintendoWiki letter w.svg This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2014)OrganizationMarketingMain article: Nintendo marketing

Nintendo of America has engaged in several high-profile marketing campaigns to define and position its brand. One of its earliest and most enduring slogans was "Now you're playing with power!", used first to promote its Nintendo Entertainment System. It modified the slogan to include "SUPER power" for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and "PORTABLE power" for the Game Boy. Its 1994 "Play It Loud!" campaign played upon teenage rebellion and fostered an edgy reputation. During the Nintendo 64 era, the slogan was "Get N or get out." During the GameCube era, the "Who Are You?" suggested a link between the games and the players' identities. The company promoted its Nintendo DS handheld with the tagline "Touching is Good." For the Wii, they used the "Wii would like to play" slogan to promote the console with the people who tried the games including Super Mario Galaxy and Super Paper Mario. The Nintendo DS's successor, the Nintendo 3DS, used the slogan "Take a look inside". The Wii's successor, the Wii U, used the slogan "How U will play next."Board of directorsNintendo's president since 2002, Satoru Iwata.

Satoru Iwata, Global President, Chairman and CEO of Nintendo of America.[66] Genyo Takeda, Senior Managing Director, Chief Director of General Development Shigeru Miyamoto, Senior Managing Director, Chief Director of Information Development[67] Tatsumi Kimishima, Managing Director, Chief Senior Director of Business Administration, Chief Director of General Affairs Kauro Takemura, Chief Director of Human Resources, Director Shigeyuki Takahashi, Director of Finance, Chief Director of Administration, Director Satoshi Yamato, Chief Director of Sales, Director Susumo Tanaka, Chief Director of Operation, Director Shinya Takahashi, Chief Director of Planning and Development, Director of Planning and Development Hirokazu Shinshi, Chief Director of Manufacture, Manager of Production Planning, Director

Other key executives:

Reggie Fils-Aime, President and COO of Nintendo of America (NOA) Satoru Shibata, President of Nintendo of Europe (NOE)

International divisionsSee also: List of divisions of NintendoNintendo Co., Ltd. (NCL)

Headquartered in Kyoto, Japan since the beginning, Nintendo Co., Ltd. oversees the organization's global operations and manages Japanese operations specifically. The company's two major subsidiaries, Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe, manage operations in North America and Europe respectively. Nintendo Co., Ltd.[68] moved from its original Kyoto location[a][where?] to a new office in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto,;[b] in 2000, this became the research and development building when the head office relocated to its present location in Minami-ku, Kyoto.[c][69]Nintendo of America (NOA)

Nintendo's North American subsidiary is based in Redmond, Washington. Originally the NOA headquarters handled sales, marketing, and advertising. However, the office in Redwood City, California now directs those functions. The company maintains distribution centers in Atlanta (Nintendo Atlanta) and North Bend, Washington (Nintendo North Bend). The 380,000-square-foot (35,000 m2) Nintendo North Bend facility processes more than 20,000 orders a day to Nintendo customers, which include retail stores that sell Nintendo products in addition to consumers who shop Nintendo's web site.[70] Nintendo of America's Canadian branch,[71] Nintendo of Canada, Ltd. (NOCL), is based in Vancouver, BC, with a distribution center in Toronto, Ontario.Nintendo of Europe (NOE)

Nintendo's European subsidiary was established in June 1990,[72] based in Groostheim,[73] close to Frankfurt, Germany. The company handles operations in Europe and South Africa.[72] Nintendo of Europe's United Kingdom branch[74] handles operations in that country and in Ireland from its headquarters in Windsor, Berkshire. In June 2014, NOE initiated a reduction and consolidation process, yielding a combined 130 layoffs: the closing of its office and warehouse, and termination of all employment, in Groostheim; and the consolidation of all of those operations into, and terminating some employment at, its Frankfurt location.[75][76]Nintendo Australia (NAL)Main article: Nintendo Australia

Nintendo's Australian subsidiary is based in Melbourne, Victoria. It handles the publishing, distribution, sales and marketing of Nintendo products in Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania (Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Vanuatu). It also manufactures some Wii games locally. Nintendo Australia is also a third-party distributor of some titles from Rising Star Games, Namco Bandai Games Europe, Atlus, The Tetris Company, Sega, Tecmo Koei Games Europe and Capcom Europe.iQue, Ltd.Main article: iQue

A Chinese joint venture between its founder, Wei Yen, and Nintendo, manufactures and distributes official Nintendo consoles and games for the mainland Chinese market, under the iQue brand. The product lineup for the Chinese market is considerably different from that for other markets. For example, Nintendo's only console in China is the iQue Player, a modified version of the Nintendo 64. The company has not released its more modern GameCube or Wii to the market, although a version of the Nintendo 3DS XL was released in 2012. As of 2013, it is a 100% Nintendo-owned subsidiary.[77][78]Nintendo of Korea (NOK)

Nintendo's South Korean subsidiary was established on July 7, 2006.[79]

The exterior of Nintendo's main headquarters in Kyoto, Japan

The Nintendo of America headquarters in Redmond, United States

Nintendo of Europe headquarters in Groostheim, Germany (to be closed soon)

Nintendo's Tokyo office

LogoThe Nintendo logo through the years18891950 19501960 19601965 19651967 19671968 19681970 19701972 19721975 19752006 2006present Research & DevelopmentMain article: List of Nintendo development teamsDivisionsThe Nintendo EAD division develops games for Nintendo's most well known franchises, such as Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda.

Nintendo's internal Research & Development operations are divided into four main division: the Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (or EAD), the main software development division of Nintendo, which focuses on internal-only video game development; the Nintendo Software Planning & Development (or SPD), which main focus is overseeing second and third-party licensing and development activity; the Nintendo Integrated Research & Development (or IRD), the main hardware development division of Nintendo, which focuses on home and handheld video game console development; and the Nintendo System Development (or SDD), which focuses on developing Nintendo Network services and Software Development Kits (SDK's) for Nintendo consoles and other experimental technology.

Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD) The Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (or EAD) division is the premier development arm at Nintendo. The group is the largest concentration of R&D, housing more than 800 engineers and designers. The division is rather large and currently broken into seven different subdivisions, each led by a designated producer and group manager. The overseeing managers are Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Currently, five divisions are located in the central Kyoto R&D building under the Software Development Department, while two divisions reside in the Tokyo offices under the Tokyo Software Development Department.

Software Planning & Development (SPD) The Nintendo Software Planning & Development (or SPD) division is the development group includes several of the original development officers from the old software and hardware development sectors. While the group leaders are decade old veterans, the bulk of the development teams working alongside are mainly younger employees. The division is broken up into two departments; Software Planning & Development Department and Software Design & Development Department.

Integrated Research & Development (IRD) The Nintendo Integrated Research & Development (or IRD) division is Nintendo's hardware group specialized in all engineering and technological aspects of Nintendo's home console and handheld development. The division also houses industrial designers who design peripherals such as the WaveBird, Wii Zapper, and Wii steering wheel. The group was originally known as Research and Development Department 3 (R&D3),[80] with the same primary functions, with the exception that manager Genyo Takeda enjoyed moonlighting by developing console and arcade games. On February 16, 2013, Nintendo IRD was combined with Nintendo Research & Engineering Department (or RED), the former hardware group specialized in all engineering and technological aspects of Nintendo's handheld development.[81][82]

System Development (SDD) The Nintendo System Development (or SDD) division, which used to be centered in peripheral and software development, is currently a hybrid development group with several distinct duties. The development team originates from Nintendo Research & Development 2 and was mainly responsible for ports and inhouse development for low profile hardware like the Pokmon Mini and the Super Famicom Satellaview service. The department handles most Nintendo Network programming and server maintenance inside Nintendo's in-house projects and throughout various other external Nintendo software in cooperation with Nintendo Network Services. Lastly, the department also cooperates in software development. The group also created mechanical devices and peripherals like the Pokwalker and Pokmotion. Current general manager, Masaru Shimomura described the group as a small creative unit that has a hardware and a software team working jointly together to create innovative products.[83]

Subsidiaries

Although most of the Research & Development is being done in Japan, there are some R&D facilities in the United States and Europe that are focused on developing software and hardware technologies used in Nintendo products. Although they all are subsidiaries of Nintendo (and therefore first party), they are often referred to as external resources when being involved in joint development processes with Nintendo's internal developers by the Japanese personal involved. This can be seen in a variety of "Iwata asks..." interviews.[84] Nintendo Software Technology (NST) and Nintendo Technology Development (NTD) are located in Redmond, Washington, USA, while Nintendo European Research & Development (NERD) is located in Paris, France, and Nintendo Network Service Database (NSD) is located in Kyoto, Japan.

Most external first-party software development is being done in Japan, since the only overseas subsidiary is Retro Studios in the United States. Although these studios are all subsidiaries of Nintendo (and therefore first party), they are often referred to as external resources when being involved in joint development processes with Nintendo's internal developers by the Nintendo Software Planning & Development (or SPD) division. 1-UP Studio, Creatures Inc. and Nd Cube are located in Tokyo, Japan, while Monolith Soft has one studio located in Tokyo and another in Kyoto, Japan. Finally, Retro Studios is located in Austin, Texas, USA.PartnersFurther information: Nintendo development teams Partners

Since the release of the Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo has built up a large group of second-party development partners, through publishing agreements and development collaboration. Most of these external Nintendo project are overseen by the Nintendo Software Planning & Development (or SPD) division.PolicyContent guidelines

For many years, Nintendo had a policy of strict content guidelines for video games published on its consoles. Although Nintendo of Japan allowed graphic violence in its video games, nudity and sexuality were strictly prohibited. Former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi believed that if the company allowed the licensing of pornographic games, the company's image would be forever tarnished.[85] Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe went further in that games released for Nintendo consoles could not feature nudity, sexuality, profanity (including racism, sexism or slurs), blood, graphic or domestic violence, drugs, political messages or religious symbols (with the exception of widely unpracticed religions, such as the Greek Pantheon).[86] The Japanese parent company was concerned that it may be viewed as a "Japanese Invasion" by forcing Japanese community standards on North American and European children. Despite the strict guidelines, some exceptions have occurred: Bionic Commando (though swastikas were eliminated in the US version), Smash TV and Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode contained human violence, the latter also containing implied sexuality and tobacco use; River City Ransom and Taboo: The Sixth Sense contained nudity, and the latter also contained religious images, as did Castlevania II and III.

A known side effect of this policy was the Sega Genesis version of Mortal Kombat selling over double the number of the Super NES version, mainly because Nintendo had forced publisher Acclaim to recolor the red blood to look like white sweat and replace some of the more gory graphics in its release of the game, making it less violent.[87] By contrast, Sega allowed blood and gore to remain in the Genesis version (though a code was required to unlock the gore). Nintendo allowed the Super NES version of Mortal Kombat II to ship uncensored the following year with a content warning on the packaging.[88]

In 1994 and 2003, when the ESRB and PEGI (respectively) video game ratings systems were introduced, Nintendo chose to abolish most of these policies in favor of consumers making their own choices about the content of the games they played. Today, changes to the content of games are done primarily by the game's developer or, occasionally, at the request of Nintendo. The only clear-set rule is that ESRB AO-rated games will not be licensed on Nintendo consoles in North America,[89] a practice which is also enforced by Sony and Microsoft, its two greatest competitors in the present market. Nintendo has since allowed several mature-content games to be published on its consoles, including: Perfect Dark, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Doom and Doom 64, BMX XXX, the Resident Evil series, Killer7, the Mortal Kombat series, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, BloodRayne, Geist and Dementium: The Ward. Certain games have continued to be modified, however. For example, Konami was forced to remove all references to cigarettes in the 2000 Game Boy Color game Metal Gear Solid (although the previous NES version of Metal Gear and the subsequent GameCube game Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes both included such references, as did Wii title MadWorld), and maiming and blood were removed from the Nintendo 64 port of Cruis'n USA.[90] Another example is in the Game Boy Advance game Mega Man Zero 3, in which one of the bosses, called Hellbat Schilt in the Japanese and European releases, was renamed Devilbat Schilt in the North American localization. In North America releases of the Mega Man Zero games, enemies and bosses killed with a saber attack would not gush blood as they did in the Japanese versions. However, the release of the Wii has been accompanied by a number of even more controversial mature titles, such as Manhunt 2, No More Heroes, The House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld, the latter three of which are published exclusively for the console. The Nintendo DS also has violent games, such as Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Dementium: The Ward and its sequel, Ultimate Mortal Kombat, and Resident Evil: Deadly Silence.License guidelines

Nintendo of America also had guidelines before 1993 that had to be followed by its licensees to make games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, in addition to the above content guidelines.[85] Guidelines were enforced through the 10NES lockout chip.

Licensees were not permitted to release the same game for a competing console until two years had passed. Nintendo would decide how many cartridges would be supplied to the licensee. Nintendo would decide how much space would be dedicated for articles, advertising, etc. in the Nintendo Power magazine. There was a minimum number of cartridges that had to be ordered by the licensee from Nintendo. There was a yearly limit of five games that a licensee may produce for a Nintendo console.[91] This rule was created to prevent market over-saturation, which had contributed to the North American video game crash of 1983.

The last rule was circumvented in a number of ways; for example, Konami, wanting to produce more games for Nintendo's consoles, formed Ultra Games and later Palcom to produce more games as a technically different publisher.[85] This disadvantaged smaller or emerging companies, as they could not afford to start additional companies. In another side effect, Square Co. (now Square Enix) executives have suggested that the price of publishing games on the Nintendo 64 along with the degree of censorship and control that Nintendo enforced over its games, most notably Final Fantasy VI, were factors in switching its focus towards Sony's PlayStation console.[citation needed]

In 1993, a class action suit was taken against Nintendo under allegations that their lockout chip enabled unfair business practices. The case was settled, with the condition that California consumers were entitled to a $3 discount coupon for a game of Nintendo's choice.[92]Emulation[icon] This section requires expansion. (October 2014)

Nintendo is opposed to any third-party emulation of its video games and consoles, stating that it is the single largest threat to the intellectual rights of video game developers.[93] However, emulators have been used by Nintendo and licensed third party companies as a means to re-release older games (through the Virtual Console). Nintendo remains the only modern console manufacturer that has not sued an emulator manufacturer.[94]Seal of QualityThe Nintendo Seal of QualityOfficial Nintendo Seal in NTSC regions.Nintendo's Official Seal of Quality in PAL regions.

The gold sunburst seal was first used by Nintendo of America, and later Nintendo of Europe. It is displayed on any game, system, or accessory licensed for use on one of its video game consoles, denoting the game has been properly approved by Nintendo. The seal is also displayed on any Nintendo-licensed merchandise, such as trading cards, game guides, or apparel, albeit with the words "Official Nintendo Licensed Product".[95]

Sid Meier in 2008 cited the Seal of Quality as one of the three most important innovations in videogame history, as it helped set a standard for game quality that protected consumers from shovelware.[96]NTSC regions

In NTSC regions, this seal is an elliptical starburst titled "Official Nintendo Seal." Originally, for NTSC countries, the seal was a large, black and gold circular starburst. The seal read as follows: "This seal is your assurance that NINTENDO has approved and guaranteed the quality of this product." This seal was later altered in 1988: "approved and guaranteed" was changed to "evaluated and approved." In 1989, the seal became gold and white, as it currently appears, with a shortened phrase, "Official Nintendo Seal of Quality." It was changed in 2003 to read "Official Nintendo Seal."[95]

The seal currently reads:[97]

The official seal is your assurance that this product is licensed or manufactured by Nintendo. Always look for this seal when buying video game systems, accessories, games and related products.

PAL regions

In PAL regions, the seal is a circular starburst titled, "Original Nintendo Seal of Quality." Text near the seal in the Australian Wii manual states:

This seal is your assurance that Nintendo has reviewed this product and that it has met our standards for excellence in workmanship, reliability and entertainment value. Always look for this seal when buying games and accessories to ensure complete compatibility with your Nintendo product.[98]

Environmental record

Nintendo has consistently been ranked last in Greenpeace's "Guide to Greener Electronics" due to Nintendo's failure to publish information.[99] Similarly, they are ranked last in the Enough Project's "Conflict Minerals Company Rankings" due to Nintendo's refusal to respond to multiple requests for information.[100]

Like many other electronics companies, Nintendo does offer a take-back recycling program which allows customers to mail in old products they no longer use; Nintendo of America claimed that it took in 548 tons of returned products in 2011, 98% of which was either reused or recycled.