Nintendo has sold overfour billion video games and 700 million hardware units globally, making it thelargest video game company in the world. In this blog post, we will explore thehistory of this iconic company.

1889-1960: Playing Cards and Hanafuda
‍Nintendo's journey began over 130 yearsago, when it was founded as a playing card company in Kyoto, Japan. It soonbegan producing Hanafuda, a type of traditional Japanese playing card. In the1950s, Nintendo started to expand outside of Japan by exporting its products toother countries.

1961-1980: The Toy EraIn 1961
Nintendo hired its firstpresident, Hiroshi Yamauchi. Under Yamauchi's leadership, Nintendo beganproducing toys such as the Ultra Hand, a extendable grabbing tool. In 1963,Nintendo entered the board game market with its title Go to the Head of theClass. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Nintendo released a number of successfultoys, such as the Love Tester and Donkey Kong Barrel Game. These productshelped establish Nintendo as a major player in the toy industry.

1981-1991: The Video Game Era In 1981
Nintendo released its firstconsole, the Color TV-Game home video game system. This was followed by arcadeclassics like Donkey Kong (1981), which introduced characters like Mario andPauline that would go on to become gaming icons. In 1985, Nintendo launched theFamily Computer (Famicom) home video game console in Japan; it would bereleased in North America as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985.The NES helped revive the US gaming industry after the market crash of 1983 bypopularizing classic games like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda (1986),and Metroid (1986).

1992-2001: The Portable Era In 1989
Nintendo released the Game Boyhandheld console, which popularized portable gaming with classics like Tetris(1989) and Pokemon Red and Blue (1996). In 2001, Nintendo released the GameCubehome video game console; although it was not as commercially successful asprior consoles like the NES or Super NES (Super Famicom in Japan), it did spawnsome beloved franchises like Super Smash Bros. (1999).

2002-present: The Modern Era In 2006
Nintendo released the Wii homevideo game console; its innovative motion control gameplay allowed players ofall ages and abilities to enjoy video games together. This was followed by therelease of two portable consoles: the touch-screen based DS in 2004 and 3DS in2011. In 2012, Nintendo entered into the mobile gaming market with its firstsmartphone app, Miitomo. And in 2017, Nintendo debuted its latest home videogame console: The Switch. Now you know a little bit about the history of thislegendary company! What's your favorite Nintendo game?

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Fromplaying cards to mobile apps, Nintendo has come a long way since it was foundedover 130 years ago. It is now one of the most iconic names in gaming thanks totimeless franchises like Mario and Zelda. What's your favorite part of thishistory? Let us know in the comments below!