Nintendo Co., Ltd., originally called Nintendo Koppai or Yamauchi Nintendo, is a multi-billiondollar Japanese video game developer and publisher. Although the company itself is currently known as a highly successful gaming giant with a strong focus on family-friendly content since the mid-1980s by the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo wasn't originally founded as such, as it was in fact a relatively unknown playing card company as far back as September 23, 1889, and eventually evolving into electronic toys. Its transition and eventual massive success into video games began its roots when a young Shigeru Miyamoto joined the company in 1977 and released the 1981 arcade hit game Donkey Kong, which itself debuted the Mario and Donkey Kong franchises, with Mario in particular since becoming the company's mascot. Nintendo would soon create The Legend of Zelda in 1986, which itself became another one of its most iconic series. The first home and handheld consoles ever manufactured by Nintendo are the Pong clone Color TV-Game and LCD-based Game & Watch series in 1977 and 1980, respectively, but their first major release worldwide for such hardware are the Japanese Famicom in 1983 (which would become the NES internationally two years later) and Game Boy in 1989. As of June 2025, Nintendo had since created eight home and six handheld mainline systems, most of them which were met with critical acclaim, and sold more than 5.9 billion video games and over 860 million hardware units, making it one of the most accomplished, wealthiest, and recognized companies in the video game industry. The company's founder and original president was Fusajirō Yamauchi. The current head executive of Nintendo is Shuntaro Furukawa.
Alongside Mario and Zelda, Nintendo is also the creator of numerous other major franchises including Metroid, Kirby, Pokémon, Star Fox, Fire Emblem, F-Zero, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, and more. Because of this, it is known for having many heroic characters such as Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Samus Aran, Pikachu, Captain Falcon, Fox McCloud, as well as villains including Bowser, Ganon, Ridley, King K. Rool, Andross, King Dedede, and so forth. Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon in particular are the company's respective flagship series, though the former is its main product.
Nintendo, however, especially in recent years, has received controversy for having an extremely strict policy of protecting their original IPs, which, for example, resulting in many unofficial fan-made products/hacks based on their games or characters as well as emulator websites being hit with cease and desist letters or takedowns, as well as significant criminal charges when caught with copyright infringement, deliberately leaking unauthorized data online before release, or illegally modifying their console hardware, even with obsolete products (NES, SNES, Game Boy, etc.).
History[]
Main article: History of Nintendo
About a century before becoming a multi-billiondollar video game company, Nintendo once produced karuta cards during the Meiji era
Nintendo Koppai was founded in 1889 in Kyoto, Japan by Fusajiro Yamauchi. The company in its early business days produced a playing card game called Hanafuda, which gained considerable popularity. It was not until 1963 that the company became Nintendo Co., Ltd., and expanded to video games development by 1973, as then-president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, was motivated by Atari and Magnavox's success in 1972.[1] In 1975, the company, in conjunction with Mitsubishi Electric, created its first video game system using an electronic video recording player and soon after the Color TV Game series.[1] In 1977, Shigeru Miyamoto joined the company, who would soon become arguably its most important employee in history. By 1979, Nintendo of America was established in New York and the company began producing coin-operated arcade games.[1]
Mario, the mascot of Nintendo and main protagonist of the Mario franchise, its primary flagship series
In the earliest days of gaming where the Atari 2600 was the dominant home console (itself released in 1977), Miyamoto designed Donkey Kong in 1981, Nintendo's first international hit video game, and itself is the origin of the company's mascot, Mario, as well as Donkey Kong, its antagonist (he would eventually become reformed in 1994). After the infamous video game crash of 1983 in the United States, Nintendo filled a market gap by releasing their Japanese Famicom home console as the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka's innovative NES games, Super Mario Bros. (1985) and The Legend of Zelda (1986), became among their most highly influential titles at the time, with the latter introducing Link.
By the iconic era of the 16/32-bit generations, the 1989 Game Boy handheld console and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System home console the following year were massively successful, although by 1991, Nintendo infamously had an intense rivalry with Sega primarily in North America, which resulted in the Mario franchise directly competing against the Sonic the Hedgehog series throughout the decade, known as the "Console Wars". The Virtual Boy (1995), a portable console with reddish stereoscopic 3D graphics intended to be an early form of virtual reality, was a significant commercial failure. With the release of the Nintendo 64 in 1996 and its innovative launch title Super Mario 64, the company began making games with fully-3D computer graphics, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in 1998 would also become a revolutionary success that is arguably known as one of, if not the greatest video game ever produced by Nintendo. The Pokémon media franchise, partially owned by Nintendo, has been a worldwide hit since the late 1990s, very similar to Mario and Zelda. However, by this point, Nintendo would utterly lose their dominance in the gaming market for the first time, as Sony had released the PlayStation in late 1994, which far outsold the N64 in spite of its successful 1st/2nd-party library.
The Game Boy Advance in 2001, the successor of the Game Boy Color from 1998 (itself the next handheld after the Game Boy), was another success. The Nintendo GameCube in the same year, which is the company's first CD-based home console, while popular with most Nintendo fans due to releases of Super Mario Sunshine or Super Smash Bros. Melee, had poor sales compared to Microsoft's and especially Sony's competing consoles, the Xbox and PlayStation 2, though it still outsold Sega's final console, the Dreamcast. In 2002, Hiroshi Yamauchi was succeeded by Satoru Iwata, who oversaw the release of the Nintendo DS handheld (2004) with a touchscreen, and the Nintendo Wii home console (2006) with a motion controller. Both of which were extraordinarily successful with over 100 million units sold, bringing Nintendo back to the top position in the market. The company, now targeting a wide audience including casual players and previously non-gamers, essentially stopped directly competing with its rivals, who targeted adult gamers. Wii Sports, a launch title for the Wii, remains Nintendo's best-selling standalone game, which sold 82 million units worldwide. Its previous record was Super Mario Bros. for the NES, which was 40 million, less than half.
Mario shaking hands with Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega's current mascot
By this time, Nintendo and Sega had completely settled their score and even created crossover games featuring their main characters including their mascots Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, known as the Mario & Sonic series, where they compete in the IOC Olympic Games, which was met with a worldwide shock, especially in the United States where their former business rivalry was at its peak during the Super NES/Genesis era.
The Nintendo 3DS handheld in 2011, the successor of the DS, successfully retried stereoscopic 3D. The Wii U (2012) was the worst-selling home console in the company's history, putting Nintendo's future as a video game manufacturer in doubt, and influencing Iwata to bring the company into mobile gaming. Iwata himself also led development of the highly successful Nintendo Switch (2017), a home/handheld hybrid console, before his tragic death in 2015. He was succeeded by Tatsumi Kimishima until 2018, followed by current president Shuntaro Furukawa. As of now, the Nintendo Switch 2, its latest console, was released in June 2025, and Nintendo continues to be successful in sales.
Offices[]
The main offices of Nintendo are in Kyoto, Japan, where most of its key employees work.
The American division, Nintendo of America, rests in Redmond, Washington. Richmond, British Columbia hosts Nintendo of Canada.
The European offices, Nintendo of Europe, are in Großostheim, Germany. Other main offices include China, Korea, and Australia.
Known Employees[]
Current[]
Takashi Tezuka (left), Shigeru Miyamoto (center), and Koji Kondo (right), three of the most important longtime employees in modern Nintendo history. Each is still working at the company today.
Shigeru Miyamoto is the creator, director, and producer of most of Nintendo's main franchises, including Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Star Fox, and more. Since he joined the company in the late 1970s, he has become one the most widely influential and accomplished video game designers in the world. In 2015, Miyamoto became acting president alongside Genyo Takeda until he was formally appointed "Creative Fellow" a few months later. Although no longer as active on game developments, he still works at Nintendo as chief game designer, often balancing near forty projects at a time. According to Shigeru about his great talent as a game designer, he himself stated "I feel that I have been very lucky to be a game designer since the dawn of the industry. I am not an engineer, but I have had the opportunities to learn the principles of game [design] from scratch, over a long period of time. And because I am so pioneering and trying to keep at the forefront, I have grown accustomed to first creating the very tools necessary for game creation."
Takashi Tezuka is the senior officer in Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development division and is an Executive Officer. He is one of Shigeru Miyamoto's closest friends and was the co-director in early Mario and The Legend of Zelda games. He joined Nintendo in 1984.
Koji Kondo is a senior executive at Nintendo and joined in 1984 as its first dedicated composer and is currently a Senior Officer at its Entertainment Planning & Development division. He is the original composer and sound director of most of Nintendo's early video game history, primarily Mario and The Legend of Zelda. Like Tezuka, he is also one of Miyamoto's closest friends.
Eiji Aonuma, The Legend of Zelda's present director/producer
Eiji Aonuma, a senior officer within their Nintendo EPD division and a longtime employee since 1988, is the current director and producer of The Legend of Zelda series.
Doug Spencer Bowser is the current president of Nintendo of America since 2019. He formerly worked with Electronic Arts between 2007 to 2015 as its vice president of global demand planning. He himself oversaw the promotion of the Nintendo Switch in North America. Coincidentally and humorously, his surname is the same as Bowser, the main antagonist of the Mario series, which is represented in the E3 2019 Nintendo Direct. According to Doug Bowser, the frequent comparisons of his and the Koopa King's names by fans do not bother him, as he stated "It's a signal to me that we have an amazing, passionate following, and our fans are embracing it. It's ironic that we share the same name, and there are times when it'll be fun and we'll play with it, but we're two very, very different characters. I'm not tired of it at all though." Fans, however, have criticized him for not being a responsible president unlike Reggie Fils-Amie before him. Bowser has announced that he will be leaving Nintendo on December 31, 2025, with veteran employee Devon Pritchard soon taking place as his successor, making her the first woman to have this position in its history.
Former[]
Hiroshi Yamauchi was the original executive producer of Nintendo when it began its fame in video gaming, as he was its third president in history, between 1949 to 2002, when he retired and Satoru Iwata replaced him. Therefore, he was one of the most important employees by Nintendo. Hiroshi himself is the great-grandson of Fusajirō Yamauchi, the founder and first president of the multi-billiondollar company. He passed away in 2013 at the age of 85.
Gunpei Yokoi was a former longtime employee of Nintendo, where he joined in 1965. He created the Game & Watch, the control pad, and is the original designer of the classic Game Boy. Yokoi was also the producer of numerous Nintendo series, particularly Metroid and Kid Icarus. The failure of the Virtual Boy caused him to leave the company in 1996. He died the following year at the age of 56 due to a tragic car accident.
Satoru Iwata was the former president and CEO of the company in the 2000s until 2015, hired in 2002 when Hiroshi Yamauchi retired. He was the fourth president of the company and the first to not be related to Yamauchi, the company's founder, by blood or marriage. He is known for being the software coordinator of the Kirby games. Iwata's passing in 2015 from a sudden tumor at the age of 55 is still mourned by fans today.
Reggie Fils-Aime, formerly the COO of Nintendo of America, was hired in 2003 as Executive Vice President of sales and marketing in North America. In 2006, he became chief operating officer, and is the first American to hold this position. He retired in 2019, and was succeeded by Doug Bowser. Fils-Amie is now Leader in Residence at Cornell University and was later named to the board of directors for Brunswick Corporation, GameStop, and Spin Master. Some fans today wished for him to return back to Nintendo.
Mainline consoles[]
Main article: Nintendo video game consoles
Home[]
Nintendo Entertainment System[]
The Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as the NES or "Nintendo", is an 8-bit console and Nintendo's first system released internationally, in October 1985. Its Japanese counterpart is called the Family Computer (FC) or Famicom, made two years prior in 1983, which had a completely different appearance but features the same general hardware. The European version uses the American design in 1986 or '87, making their release relatively late. It competed with the Sega Master System and briefly the then-aging Atari VCS. Although basic by today's standards yet arguably the company's most important console, the NES is best known for its introduction of some of Nintendo's groundbreaking franchises such as Mario (with Super Mario Bros.), The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and others, as well as reviving the game industry in North America following the crash of '83. However, due to storage limitations at the time, many (but not all) games of its library are also notoriously known to be highly difficult like that of arcade games, including Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels (technically a Famicom Disk System title, which The Legend of Zelda was also initially released on in Japan) and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, making it a very skeptical pick among causal gamers and some claiming it does not age well today or is overrated, unlike its successors. Despite this, the NES sold 61.91 million worldwide and some of its games are often re-released by Nintendo in modern software via emulation (which would also apply for the SNES, N64, and recently the GameCube). It was discontinued in 1995, though Japan kept supporting the system until 2003, making it by far the longest-lasting home console on record - 20 years (excluding the Master System in Brazil).
Super Nintendo Entertainment System[]
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as Super NES, SNES, or "Super Nintendo", is a 16-bit console and Nintendo's second international home system. It was released in August 1991, while Japan, like its predecessor, has its different-looking version named the Super Famicom (SFC), released in 1990. Europe used the Japanese model in 1992. Essentially a more advanced release of the NES, true to its name, this console was a revolutionary hit and is iconic for drastically improving the library of the previous series such as Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country, Yoshi's Island, and more, while marking the debut of certain successful franchises such as F-Zero, Star Fox, Mario Kart, and so forth, giving the SNES a legendary status and is widely considered as Nintendo's greatest, if not the greatest console ever made to this day. However, unlike its predecessor, it did not come without direct competition, as the release of the Genesis/Mega Drive in 1988 by Sega resulted in an infamous rivalry. Eventually, it became the best-selling console of its generation with 49.1 million sold. The Super NES is well-known for having advanced graphics and sound effects for its time, thanks to Mode 7 effects, the Super FX chip in select few games, and an audio processor ironically produced by Sony (which would later create the PlayStation series of consoles). It was retired in 1999, though Japan continued the console until 2003.
Nintendo 64[]
The Nintendo 64, also known as N64, is Nintendo's third home console and was released on June 1996. It is also the final system of its type to use true ROM cartridges as the storage medium, as the gaming industry began its shift into CD-ROMs. As the name suggests, the Nintendo 64 had an advanced 64-bit processor, and it competed against the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Notably, it is Nintendo's first major console to use 3D graphics and have standard 4-player support. Although not quite the best-selling home console of the 32-bit era, as the PS1 dominated the market and wasn't commercially successful in Japan and Europe, the N64, like its predecessors, is one of the most critically acclaimed systems and known for having a great library of games such as Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Star Fox 64, F-Zero X, GoldenEye 007, Mario Kart 64, Diddy Kong Racing, and more, while introducing a few spin-off franchises such the Super Smash Bros. series or Mario Party. The Nintendo 64 is the company's first home console where all three major regions use the exact same model since (though regional lockouts continue until the Switch). It sold 32.93 million units worldwide and was discontinued in 2002.
Nintendo GameCube[]
The Nintendo GameCube, often shortend to GameCube or GC, is Nintendo's fourth home console and the first to use CDs to store games (albeit in MiniDVD format). Released in September 2001, it competed against the Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox. Like the previously released N64, despite the GameCube being known for having a good library of games by Nintendo or second-parties, such as Super Mario Sunshine, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, F-Zero GX, Star Fox Adventures, Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, or The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (though initially met with controversy), it suffered in the 3rd-party market due to storage limitations and Sony once again dominated the generation with their PS2, this time even more so. This console is notable for featuring some of Nintendo's flagship characters, specifically Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Link, as playable guests in very few certain games, with the latter's case being the Namco fighting game SoulCalibur II from the Soul series, which many Nintendo fans enjoyed. The Animal Crossing and Pikmin series made their debut on this system (though Japan has the former released on the N64 as Animal Forest). The GameCube was discontinued in 2007 and sold 21.74 million units worldwide.
Nintendo Wii[]
The Nintendo Wii, or Wii, is the fifth home console by Nintendo and, uniquely, was created with the concept of motion controls. Released in November 2006 and competing against the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360, the console was a massive hit during its launch thanks to its best-selling title Wii Sports. Continuing the tread of more successful games for the Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, and Metroid series to boost its popularity, such as Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (also released on GameCube), Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii and more, the Wii sold 101 million units worldwide by the time it retired in 2013, making Nintendo become the dominant best-seller in the market since the NES. As Nintendo's first console focusing on the internet, the Wii is notably the starting point where the company no longer focuses on outperforming its rivals in hardware processing power (which is met with criticism by some fans). Its online service persisted until 2019.
Nintendo Wii U[]
The Nintendo Wii U, or Wii U, is the direct successor of the Wii, released in November 2012, and is Nintendo's sixth home console. It competed against the Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One. The first system by the company to run in HD graphics, the Wii U is known for having an embedded touchscreen and is backwards comparable with its predecessor. However, unlike the past transition from the NES to the Super NES, this console ultimately proved to be a commercial failure for Nintendo, as it received criticism for its user interface, poor hardware performance, and the GamePad's short battery life. It does, however, have rather successful games such as New Super Mario Bros. U (including the unique New Super Luigi U), Super Mario Maker, The Wind Waker HD, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Mario Kart 8. It sold 13.56 million units worldwide by the time it was discontinued in 2017, making it the company's worst-selling home console. Its online service ended in 2024.
Nintendo Switch[]
The Nintendo Switch, often shortend to Switch (or "Switch 1" by fans due to the present release of the Nintendo Switch 2), is Nintendo's seventh home console was released in March 2017, and is the first of its kind as a hybrid console - combining the construction of handheld with a traditional system. Therefore, its storage medium are no longer CDs, but rather a Game Card resembling that of a Nintendo DS physical copy. Although Nintendo continues to compete with the PS4 and Xbox One, the Switch was intended as a rival to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. A phenomenal hit during its launch, primarily due to the releases of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (also released on the Wii U) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the Switch's design was aimed at a wide demographic of players through multiple modes of use. Nintendo also sought the support of many third-party developers and publishers, as well as independent studios, to help build its game library alongside its first-party games, while standard electronic components, such as a chip set based on Nvidia's Tegra line, were chosen to make development for the console easier for programmers and more compatible with existing game engines. However, it does come with flaws, as its controllers, the Joy-Cons, are known to have drift issues. By far the most commercially successful home console by Nintendo, the Switch, as of November 2025, has sold a whopping 154 million units worldwide, making it (alongside the Nintendo DS line) just shy of the Sony PlayStation 2's 160 million record as the highest-selling console of all-time (it is however the biggest seller in the United States). The Nintendo Switch is currently ongoing in the market, though it's beginning to be phased out by the company and some fans due to the transition to its successor.
Nintendo Switch 2[]
On June 5, 2025, the Switch was given a direct successor known as the Nintendo Switch 2. It is the eighth Nintendo home console and second hybrid. In spite of its design being very similar to its predecessor, it has a larger liquid-crystal screen display, more internal storage, updated graphics, controllers, and social features. It supports 1080p resolution with 120Hz refresh rate in handheld or tabletop mode, and 4K resolution with a 60Hz refresh rate when docked. Despite being brand new, the Switch 2 quickly became Nintendo's most controversial console for having a higher price compared to earlier systems (costs over $450 at launch in the U.S.) and not significantly more advanced than the original Switch in hardware capabilities - a repeat of the Wii U. In addition, unlike every previous internet-based hardware, the company also has the ability to permanently ban any Switch 2 that has been caught with piracy usage, cutting off online access and sparking major concerns for the second-hand market in the future. Regardless, due to the extremely popular Nintendo brand and an ever-increasing number of gamers worldwide compared to past decades, it sold 3.5 million units within only four days of its release, already making the Nintendo Switch 2 the fastest-selling console by the company to date - twice as much as the first Nintendo Switch. Its launch title is Mario Kart World for the Mario Kart series. The Nintendo Switch Online subscription service from the initial Switch is retained, which is required for some multiplayer games and provides access to the Nintendo Classics library of older emulated games; GameCube games are exclusive to the Switch 2. In addition, many Switch games will be ported to its successor. Needless to say, being Nintendo's latest console, it's ongoing in the market.
Handheld[]
Game Boy[]
The Game Boy, also known as GB, is Nintendo's first major handheld console. Released on April 1989, the 8-bit console, known for its rather primitive monochrome, low-contrast dark green LCD screen, was designed by Gunpei Yokoi. Despite other rather unsuccessful handhelds released prior to it in the 1970s as well as the Game & Watch series, the original Game Boy set the standard of interchange games on a portable system, making it a revolutionary success. It competed against the Sega Game Gear, Atari Lynx, and NEC TurboExpress, and although its rivals each had color screens with backlights and the Game Boy is the complete opposite, it managed to dominate in sales, ultimately selling over 64 million units worldwide. This is due to its overall reliability, as well as having a large library of games (mainly ports of arcades and the Super NES) including its launch titles Tetris and Super Mario Land, as well as The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. The Kirby and Pokémon franchises make their debut on the Game Boy. It eventually retires in 2003, making it the longest-lasting handheld console on record by 18 years.
Game Boy Color[]
The Game Boy Color, or GBC, is the direct successor of the initial Game Boy. Released on October 1998, while still 8-bit in processing power and similar in the main hardware, its CPU is twice as powerful, has significantly more memory and is now fully in color. Its competitors are the WonderSwan, Neo Geo Pocket, and Genesis Nomad, but as with the Game Boy, the GBC was the dominant handheld of its generation. Its lifespan is much shorter in comparison to its predecessor, as it was retired in 2003, but it has backward compatibility (a first for Nintendo) and its best-selling games are Pokémon Gold/Silver, and when combined with the GB, the collectively sold 118 million units worldwide. For the Zelda series, it has Link's Awakening DX, a colored update of the original.
Game Boy Advance[]
The Game Boy Advance, also known as GBA, is the fourth handheld by Nintendo and is the first true successor in the Game Boy line. With a 32-bit processor, it was released on March 2001. It competed against Nokia's N-Gage and once more Bandai's WonderSwan, and, yet again, was by far the best-selling handhand. Some of its best-known games are Super Mario Advance (its launch title), Mario Kart: Super Circuit, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords, The Minish Cap, and Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire. Similar to the original Game Boy, the GBA had multiple revisions during its lifespan such as the Game Boy Advance SP. It sold 81.51 million units worldwide and was discontinued in 2010.
Nintendo DS[]
The Nintendo DS is the fifth handheld by Nintendo and the first of the DS line. Released in late 2004, this console is notable for being a foldable system and its design was inspired by the dual-screen Game & Watch and Game Boy Advance SP models. Like the Wii, the Nintendo DS was built with wireless capacity, allowing players to compete in multiplayer games without the need of a link cable for each handheld. It also makes a return of the controller button style of the SNES, as the Game Boy line previously used the NES format (though the GBA had the L/R shoulder buttons) The DS was enormously successful in commercial sales and its most well-known games include New Super Mario Bros., Super Mario 64 DS, Mario Kart DS, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and Pokémon Diamond/Pearl. It too would have multiple revisions such as the DS Lite. Initially, it was backward compatible with the Game Boy Advance, but when the DSi model was introduced, this was lost. Combined, the DS line sold a total of a whopping 154 million units worldwide, making the overall best-selling Nintendo console. Today, the Nintendo DS (alongside the 3DS) is rather infamous for its upper screen eventually detaching itself off from wear and age, not unlike a laptop computer, making repairs difficult, as Nintendo no longer supports it. It was discontinued in 2011.
Nintendo 3DS[]
The Nintendo 3DS, or 3DS, is the sixth handheld console by Nintendo and the successor of the DS. Released on February 2011, it is essentially an update of its predecessor, with more advanced capabilities, true 3D graphics, and full internet usage. Like the company's older handhelds, the Nintendo 3DS is backward comparable to the DS. Its most well-known titles include New Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario Kart 7, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes, or Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Some are also remakes of previously released Nintendo games such as Star Fox 64 3D, Ocarina of Time 3D, Majora's Mask 3D, and more. Having several revisions like the Nintendo DS, this includes the 3DS XL, 2DS, or even "New Nintendo 3DS" models, each aiming to improve from the original version. Its online service ended in 2024, while the console itself was discontinued in 2020. It ultimately sold over 75 million units worldwide. Unless counting the hybrid Switch series, the Nintendo 3DS is the last Nintendo handheld console.
Revenue[]
Nintendo earned $7.8 billion in 2006, making their Forbes Fortune 500 rank 620. They employ 8,205 people as of 2025. The company reported an annual loss of $264 million in 2011, its first since the company began issuing financial statements in 1981.[2]
As of 2023, Nintendo's revenue is $13.9 billion, making itself one of the most successful businesses in the world.
The Legend of Zelda series[]
Link, the main protagonist and mascot of The Legend of Zelda series, is one of Nintendo's biggest stars
The Legend of Zelda, an action-adventure series, like Mario and Pokémon, is one of the most important franchises created by Nintendo, as it is among the most successful. It itself notably shares the same original development team as the former, resulting in both iconic series' core installments or other media having many parallels with each other to this day, usually as Easter Eggs.
At the beginning, the 1985 release of Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System marked a new trend in game goals - instead of trying to get a high score with linear gameplay, the player would try to "complete" the quest. During the concurrent development of this game in 1984, Shigeru Miyamoto alongside Takashi Tezuka also worked on the original The Legend of Zelda, which would be a less linear gameplay experience. He based the idea around the caves, forests, and fields he explored as a boy in his hometown of Kyoto, and also took inspiration from the Indiana Jones film series, while Tezuka used J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings novels as the source for the series' famous sword and sorcery setting.
On February 21, 1986, Nintendo released The Hyrule Fantasy: The Legend of Zelda for the Japan-exclusive Family Computer Disk System peripheral (a floppy disk drive that enabled savable games). In 1987, the game was released internationally on NES, but in a cartridge format with battery backup, which was a novelty at the time. Nintendo feared this paradigm shift in gameplay during its development, but The Legend of Zelda was a great success and sold more than a million copies in both Japan and North America (6.5 million worldwide, in fact), solidifying its dedication to the multi-billiondollar franchise. Most of its subsequent titles are also met with critical acclaim.
Along with Mario and Pikachu, Nintendo focused heavily on the Link character in its marketing, including the short-lived Fun Club newsletter, commercials (which were expensive for Nintendo and thus had to be designed carefully), and merchandise.
As of June 2025, The Legend of Zelda is Nintendo's third best-selling franchise, behind Mario and Pokémon, with over 168 million copies sold worldwide. There are currently 21 titles released for the core series, with the latest being The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom for the Nintendo Switch in 2024.
Trivia[]
- The name "Nintendo" loosely translates from Japanese as "leave luck to heaven".
- Some well-known second parties of Nintendo include HAL Laboratory, Intelligent Systems, Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, and, formerly, Rareware.
- Nintendo's NES, Game Boy, Super NES, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and the Switch are the best-selling consoles of their respective generations.
- Although Mario is Nintendo's main flagship series, it is not the highest grossing video game media franchise of all-time. As of 2024, Pokémon easily surpasses it with an incredible $150 billion (mainly by merchandise), while the former is $55 billion. For comparison, The Legend of Zelda was only $3.8 billion.
- The very first video game ever released by Nintendo is often debated. Although the 1977 Color TV-Game or 1980 Game & Watch series are known to be the first products to have considerable success, alongside Sheriff and Donkey Kong in 1979 and 1981, respectively, some sources say EVR Race, a rare arcade from 1975, takes the distinction.
- Most of the modern employees of Nintendo had previously played older consoles or games by the company before joining themselves.
- While Nintendo continues to remain globally popular, some fans debate which era of the company's video game history is its peak in game creativity. Although most agreed to be during the 20th Century (NES to Nintendo 64), others believe it's in the 2000s (GameCube to Wii). Some also say its quality has gone downhill today, due to certain recent titles having poorly made graphics, bugs or unfinished content, as well as console hardware issues, leading to uncertainty about the company's future.
- Perhaps notoriously, unlike most other video game companies, in the earlier era when it was common, Nintendo usually does not allow cheat codes in their games. This has resorted players to use hacking devices such as Game Genie, GameShark or Action Replay to gain advantages in original hardware. This is especially true for the Pokémon series, which is a role-playing game franchise. Because of this, however, Nintendo itself has resorted into countermeasures against such devices.
Many Nintendo games, including The Legend of Zelda, often show indirect affection among characters known to have relationships like Link and Princess Zelda, which led some to believe the company is sensitive about fan reactions in Japan
- In spite of Nintendo known to have created popular franchises with cute themes such as Kirby, Pokémon, or Animal Crossing, the company overall has very rarely allowed direct affection (hugs, kisses, etc.) in their games or other media, and even if so, as primarily seen in Mario based on the famous longtime relationship with Mario and Princess Peach, it is kept to the bare minimum to be strictly platonic, which is met with criticism by some fans especially in North America. This is likely due to the Japanese culture, where Nintendo is based, tends to be more conservative regarding public displays of affection (PDA) than Western cultures. In addition, the company often prioritizes innovative gameplay mechanics and experiences over deeply developed storylines or character relationships. Because of this, various fandoms in the West have created unofficial content of Nintendo characters (sometimes with self-inserts or others from different franchises) sharing explicit affection on social media.
- Many of Nintendo's video games released throughout the decades from its various franchises are widely considered among the greatest of all-time. Arguably, one title of The Legend of Zelda series for the Nintendo 64, Ocarina of Time, is often listed as the #1 pick in many official publications, due to its unrivaled impact.
- Although Nintendo extremely rarely allows their characters to be playable in games other than their own due to their infamously strict intellectual property protection, the company often has no issue for licensed crossover content. For example, in Super Mario Maker, the modern Super Smash Bros. titles, or Animal Crossing, characters from other popular media are seen, such as Pac-Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, Hello Kitty, and more. Even the Sonic franchise joined Mario characters in the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series, in spite of Nintendo and Sega themselves formerly had a strong rivalry.
A screenshot of Ocarina of Time's Shadow Temple, showing genuine blood on the floor behind Link
- Graphic violence or explicitly dark themes are normally forbidden by Nintendo in their true games, including franchises that seemingly encourage it such as The Legend of Zelda, Metriod, or Super Smash Bros., due to their goal is to create family-friendly titles, and the highest rating allowed in the ESRB is generally Teen ("T"). However, there are rare exceptions. Most often, some older games from second-parties such as Killer Instinct, Kirby's Dream Land 3, or Perfect Dark have depictions of blood. Surprisingly, a Mature-rated survival horror first-party game exists for the Nintendo GameCube called Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem.
- Many fans consider Ocarina of Time to be the most unusual case of depicting violence in a flagship Nintendo game. The original version of the Zelda title released on the Nintendo 64 had the Everyone ("E") rating, but stained red blood can be clearly seen on some walls of Bottom of the Well and Shadow Temple, and Ganon's ultimate defeat by Link infamously shows the hero slashing his archenemy's face multiple times before thrusting the Master Sword directly into the demon's mouth in an attempt to destroy him, each with blood splattering. This was met with controversy, and later revisions and the remake had this being censored, but the aforementioned dungeons remain untouched. Ocarina of Time 3D's rating was Everyone 10+ ("E10+").
- The Atari 2600, released in 1977, despite not being a Nintendo console, is the earliest major system to have its games in general released on, specifically Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Mario Bros..
A Super Nintendo Entertainment System console in relatively poor condition from age
- Despite most classic Nintendo consoles such as the NES, Super NES, Game Boy, or N64 can easily be accessed and played through emulation sites today, it's known that Nintendo's policies have made the company terminate some in the web by suing such through unauthorized copyright infringement in various cases. This has been met with significant criticism by fans, as aside from popular demand, older games or systems in original hardware, in general, are increasingly rare/expensive in the secondhand market due to their age, accidents by owners, or deterioration and will eventually fail altogether, which is especially problematic since official replacement parts are no longer commercially available and are now difficult to repair or refurbish damaged units. Therefore, emulators are widely viewed as the only current and safe way to preserve them, especially for rare titles and arcades. In addition, although Nintendo itself have officially released emulators of their own such as the Virtual Console and Nintendo Switch Online, they lack special options third-party ones may provide such as cheats and most games for each console based on their library are still unavailable.
- In 2018 and especially 2020, Nintendo was hacked by an unknown user in an infamous event known as the "Gigaleak", due to over 3 GB of previously unseen internal data of various games, mainly older, was stolen and leaked onto the internet for the public to see. The company did manage to acknowledge it in 2022 and increased their security measures, but in 2024, another major breach, called the "Teraleak" occurred mainly for the Pokémon series and attempted to prematurely reveal the Nintendo Switch 2. Both illegal activities even alleged personal information of multiple Nintendo and Game Freak staffers.
- Nintendo is not the only major video game company or developer to have this problem, as some others such as Rockstar Games (known for the Grand Theft Auto franchise) also had unauthorized leaks by malicious fans or hackers prematurely revealing information of certain popular games before their official release.
- In 2015, Nintendo announced that an amusement theme park based on their franchises, mainly Mario and Donkey Kong, would be in construction in partnership with Universal. In 2021, it became known as Super Nintendo World (a pun on the Super NES and Super Mario World). While the main location is in Japan, there are additional parks in Hollywood and Epic Universe.
Gallery[]
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The very first Nintendo logo during its founding in 1889 -
Nintendo's logo during the 1970s to early 1980s -
Classic Nintendo logo from the 1980s to 2004 -
The gray variant of the Nintendo logo used from 2004-2016
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Nintendo main HQ in Kyoto, Japan
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Nintendo of America HQ sign
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The Donkey Kong arcade game, Nintendo's first milestone in its multi-billiondollar fame
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Super Mario Bros., a revolutionary NES title that has become arguably Nintendo's most important game
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The Legend of Zelda on NES, a major milestone for Nintendo to create the Zelda franchise
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Pokémon Red/Blue on the Game Boy, an important title for Nintendo to produce the hit franchise with Game Freak
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Super Mario 64 on the N64, Nintendo's first major milestone in the 3D graphics
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Ocarina of Time on the N64, a revolutionary title that set the standard for the current gameplay of The Legend of Zelda series
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The Color TV-Game 6, Nintendo's first ever console before the NES. The series lasted from 1977 to 1983
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The Game & Watch (Ball), Nintendo's first ever handheld before the Game Boy. The series lasted from 1980 to 1991
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A Game & Watch based on the 1989 Zelda game
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The Virtual Boy, a 1995 handheld that proved to be a major flop for Nintendo
External Links[]
| Platform | Nintendo of America | Nintendo of Japan |
|---|---|---|
| General Nintendo Media | ||
| Official Site | Nintendo.com (En, Es) Nintendo.ca (En, Fr) |
Nintendo.co.jp |
| Nintendo (NA) Nintendo Of Canada (CAN) Nintendo Console Gaming Nintendo Handheld Gaming |
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| @NintendoAmerica (NA) @NintendoCanada (CAN) |
@Nintendo | |
| YouTube | Nintendo | NintendoJPofficial |
| Nintendo | — | |
| Nintendo | — | |
| Twitch | Nintendo | — |
| Official Zelda Media | ||
| Official Site | Zelda.com | — |
| The Legend of Zelda | — | |
| — | @ZeldaOfficialJP | |