23rd September 1889

Nintendo is founded





Founded on the 23rd of September 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, Nintendo initially produced handmade Hanafuda (Flower Cards) playing cards. The company tried various ventures including cab services and love hotels.

In the 1960s they began developing toys then moved on to video games in the 1970s.

A rough translation of Nintendo is "Leave luck to heaven". Their first handheld games to be developed were the Game and Watch series, which were designed after a commuter was seen playing with a calculator on a train.

Nintendo have received worldwide success with their consoles, particularly handhelds. With a market value of $85 billion, it currently Japan's 3rd most valuable listed company.