Nintendo: A Brief History - AdaptCMS

Nintendo: A Brief History

Posted by: propixel at 12/15/08

Nintendo, if you didn't know, has been in the game business for more than 100 years. Seriously. They used to make cards before there was even televisions to make games on. And when tv's came around, they utilized their genius on those to. To this day, Nintendo continues to dominate the world of video games. And we give it a brief history lesson for those who are curious about what kinds of cards they made, or why they chose to go in new directions while the rest of the industry kept innovating but not heading in bold new directions. 

Nintendo: it's a household name. All across the world, when someone talks about video games, more often than not they will think about Nintendo. Selling more than one billion games worldwide, spanning more than 100 years and over 5 home video game consoles, Nintendo has made a mark on each and every one of our Video gaming hearts.

For roughly the first 100 years, the company went through many name changes, finally settling down with Nintendo Co. Ltd. in 1963. They made playing cards, and throughout the century, made many different types of cards, including Walt Disney one's, which opened the company up to a new children's department.

Around the 1980's, Nintendo stated to become the company we know and love, switching from playing cards, to video games. Nintendo started an operations division for coin-operated games, and started selling their GAME & WATCH product line. Donkey Kong was born in 1981, when he first appeared in a coin-operated machine, which quickly became the hottest arcade game of its time. In 1984, Nintendo developed the VS. System, where 2 players could go at it side by side on the same machine.

The NES, (Nintendo Entertainment System) which for many was the first in home video game system, they ever owned, was brought to the US Market in 1985. The NES was packaged with a R.O.B. - Robotic Operating Buddy, and the Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt combination cartridge. In 1987, the NES became the #1 selling toy in America, and The Legend of Zelda became the first new generation video game to sell 1 million copies. 

In July of 1988, Nintendo of America Inc. published the very first issue of Nintendo Power. The NES Library grew to 65 titles and began to appeal to gamers of all ages. 1989 was an amazing year for Nintendo, with the sequel to The Legend of Zelda, The Adventures of Link appearing on the gaming scene. The Nintendo Game Boy was released, becoming the first portable gaming system on the market with inter-changeable cartridges. Nintendo Power was now the largest paid-subscription publication in its age category and studies showed that Mario was just as recognizable to children, as Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny.

With the success of the NES so great, and interest in video games so high, Nintendo released the Super Nintendo (Super NES), which took video games to a whole other level, 16-bit! 1992 brought us the Super NES Super Scope, Mario Paint, with the Super NES Mouse Accessory, and the long awaited SNES addition to the Zelda world, "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past," which to some, is still the greatest video game of all time. To immerse gamers even more into their favorite games, the Super Game Boy was released, allowing Nintendo fans to play their favorite Game Boy games on their TV screens, in color, using their Super Nintendo systems. Nintendo also assisted in the development of an industry-wide rating system. Donkey Kong Country was released during the Holiday season, and its revolutionary Advanced Computer Modeling (ACM) graphics blew everyone away (I remember the day I got my copy, do you?).

Killer Instinct was released in 1995, which was the second Super NES game to use ACM graphic technology. At the same time, Nintendo released it's infamous Virtual Boy, this took video games to a Full 32-bit Virtual Reality stage. Sadly, the Virtual Boy did not catch on too well with video game fans, but not to worry, because 1995 also brought such amazing follow up games as Yoshi's Island: Super Mario World 2, and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

Nintendo probably wouldn't be where it is today without the help of Shigeru Miyamoto.

The rightfully named Nintendo 64, with its revolutionary 64-bit graphic technology exploded onto the scene in 1996. Nintendo also introduced the Game Boy Pocket, which was 30% smaller than the original Game Boy. Super Mario 64 was released, and was referred to by many as "the greatest video game of all time!"

1998 was the year we finally went portable with color, with the revolutionary Game Boy Color, gamers could then take their games wherever they wanted, in color! The Game Boy Camera and Printer were also released, which blew people away with the fact that then they could actually take pictures with their Game Boys! The most anticipated game of all time was released in 1998, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for N64, setting new heights for Video Games, both graphic and story wise.

Pokemon was the word on everybodyes mind in 1999. With such games as Pokemon Yellow, Pokemon Pinball, and the first Pokemon on N64, Pokemon Snap, Pokémon was everywhere! Pokemon wasn't the only thing going on in 1999; we also were given such Nintendo gems as Perfect Dark, Mario Party, Donkey Kong 64, Mario Golf, and Super Smash Bros. We were also told that Nintendo was in development of a new System, code-named Dolphin. Very, very little was known about the Dolphin, but people were definitely getting anxious.

At the turn of the century, Nintendo had sold over 100 million Game Boy units across the world. Game Boy racked up 47% of all U.S. hardware sales, and Pokemon Stadium was the top selling console game, with The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask coming in second, both for the N64. Pokémon Gold and Silver for Game Boy Color became the fastest-selling games of all time by selling 1.4 million copies combined, in the first week of their sale.

2001 was the 20th anniversaries of everyone's favorite Nintendo Characters: Mario and Donkey Kong. This was also the year we got our portable powerhouse, the Game Boy Advance, which changed the way portable games would be played, forever. But the most important event of 2001 was undoubtedly the released of our beloved Gamecube! With record breaking sales, it quickly became the fasted selling next generation hardware system on the market.


November 18th, 2001 was a glorious day for gamers world wide. As they welcomed the Nintendo GameCube into their homes...and hearts.

From the year 2002 to today, we have witnessed things we could have never thought imaginable. Nintendo released such amazing games including Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requim, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the award winning Animal Crossing, and arguable the best game of 2002, Metroid Prime, which won the Best Of Show at E3 2002. Nintendo also released their first (and regrettably only) online Gamecube game, Phantasy Star Online in 2002.

Nintendo is the Godfather of gaming, and going from a small company making playing cards, to being one of the biggest names in entertainment, it is safe to say that Nintendo is known all over the world, as not only one of the best video game creators of all time, but simply as a great corporation.