Nintendo: A History

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By Ella

Video games are one of the ways kids learn about the world. Nintendo is one of the best known video game companies. Fusajiro Yamauchi was a Japanese entrepreneur, who started Nintendo. Nintendo changed the entertainment world with their first video game console. Nintendo's newest console is way different than their first console. Since Nintendo was founded in 1889 it has changed immensely.

Nintendo has been around since before video games even existed. On September 23, 1889 in Kyoto, Japan, Fusajiro Yamauchi founded the company Nintendo, which focused on card games. It’s crazy to think about how entertainment has changed in over 100 years. Nintendo the word means “leave luck to heaven.” Nintendo has been really lucky because over 1 year they make $1.62 billion. Their first card game was all handmade, and was called hanafuda. The game soon became very popular and Yamauchi had to hire people to help him make all the cards so they could make enough. However, the changes were only beginning.

Nintendo’s whole business changed with the beginning of the digital age. In 1993 they launched their first console The Family Computer, which was a home video game console. This made a huge change to the world, because this was one of the first video games in the world. The Family Computer was a big box with a controller sticking out of it. This is way different than now because back then the consoles were bulky and heavy and you had to keep it at home. According to Alen Bradley, a writer at gamesradar.com, old games “[whisk] us back to childhood with a targeted shot of nostalgia.” People are starting to bring back old video game consoles because they are excited for the retro quality. These old games are very different from the new consoles.

The consoles today are from a whole new generation. On March 3, 2017 the Nintendo Switch was released. This is Nintendo’s newest invention. It is portable and you can bring it places, unlike the Family Computer which is huge. One reviewer on techradar.com, Jon Porter, says, “it's one of the most popular devices around.” It is crazy to see how successful Nintendo has been over all these years. 

Clearly, Nintendo has come a long way since 1889. From card games to large early video game consoles, to modern and portable ones, Nintendo has been a gaming leader. Who knows what Nintendo will be like in 20 years?