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|founded=September 23, 1889
|founded=September 23, 1889
|first_release=''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'' ([[List of games by date#1981|1981]])
|first_release=''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'' ([[List of games by date#1981|1981]])
|latest_release=''[[Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)|Super Mario RPG]]'' ([[Nintendo Switch]]) ([[List of games by date#2023|2023]])
|latest_release=''[[Princess Peach: Showtime!]]'' ([[List of games by date#2024|2024]])
|president=[[Shuntaro Furukawa]]
|president=[[Shuntaro Furukawa]]
}}
}}
'''{{wp|Nintendo}}''' is a video game company with its origins in Japan. Nintendo is the creator of many popular franchises, including the ''[[Super Mario (franchise)|Super Mario]]'' franchise, and the company's mascot is [[Mario]] himself.
'''{{wp|Nintendo}}''' is a video game company with its origins in Japan. Nintendo is the creator of many popular franchises, including the [[Super Mario (franchise)|''Super Mario'' franchise]], and the company's mascot is [[Mario]] himself.
{{br|left}}
{{br|left}}


==History==
==History==
{{multiple image|align=left|direction=vertical|image1=Nintendo - Obsolete logo.svg|image2=Nintendo Logo.svg|width=180|footer=The company's [https://www.2020colours.com/e4000f signature red] logo from 1975 to 2006 (top) and gray logo from 2006 to 2015 (bottom). The gray logo is still used in corporate pages.}}
{{multiple image|align=left|direction=vertical|image1=Nintendo - Obsolete logo.svg|image2=Nintendo Logo.svg|width=180|footer=The company's signature red logo from 1985 to 2008, used internationally outside of Japan and Southeast Asia (top), and gray logo from 2006 to 2016 (bottom). The gray logo is still used in corporate pages.}}
[[File:Regiones comerciales de Nintendo.svg|thumb|Regions where Nintendo's products are available]]
[[File:Regiones comerciales de Nintendo.svg|thumb|Regions where Nintendo's products are available]]
Nintendo was originally founded in Kyoto, Japan on September 23, 1889, to produce handmade {{wp|hanafuda}} cards for use in Japanese card games. [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]], the company's third president, began diversifying Nintendo's ventures. Nintendo entered the arcade industry in 1973 and the home console industry in 1977, simultaneously hiring [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] as a product designer. In 1978, Nintendo began making arcade video games, licensing titles to other companies for distribution outside Japan. In 1980, Nintendo established a North American division headed by {{wp|Minoru Arakawa}}, and the first game that would be distributed by the American division would be ''[[nwiki:Radar Scope|Radar Scope]]''. The game did not sell well in the United States, and a number of unsold cabinets remained in warehouses.
Originally founded as a {{wp|hanafuda}} playing card manufacturer in Kyoto, Japan, on September 23, 1889, Nintendo began exploring game-making after third president [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]] began diversifying the company's ventures. Nintendo entered the arcade industry in 1973 and the home console industry in 1977, simultaneously hiring [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] as a product designer. In 1978, Nintendo began making arcade video games, licensing titles to other companies for distribution outside Japan. In 1980, Nintendo established a North American division headed by {{wp|Minoru Arakawa}}, and the first game that would be distributed by the American division would be ''[[nwiki:Radar Scope|Radar Scope]]''. The game did not sell well in the United States, and a number of unsold cabinets remained in warehouses.


Arakawa asked Yamauchi if a new game could be developed and inserted into the unsold ''Radar Scope'' cabinets.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191109000531/https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/09/14/ign-presents-the-history-of-super-mario-bros "IGN Presents: The History of Super Mario Bros."]</ref> Yamauchi went through Nintendo's entire talent pool to see who could head the designing of a potential ''Radar Scope'' replacement, and the result was Miyamoto designing ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]''. When ''Donkey Kong'' was released in 1981, it became a bestseller and marked the introduction of Mario. In 1983, Nintendo introduced the [[Family Computer]], distributing it abroad as the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] two years later. Its success in Japan and North America resulted in Nintendo becoming a dominant player in the video game industry and the revival of the industry in North America, which had been negatively affected by a crash in 1983. The most successful game for the NES, ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', further cemented Nintendo's dominance in the industry. The ''Super Mario'' franchise has since become Nintendo's flagship franchise and one of the most well-known brands to originate from video games.
Arakawa asked Yamauchi if a new game could be developed and inserted into the unsold ''Radar Scope'' cabinets.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191109000531/https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/09/14/ign-presents-the-history-of-super-mario-bros "IGN Presents: The History of Super Mario Bros."]</ref> Yamauchi went through Nintendo's entire talent pool to see who could head the designing of a potential ''Radar Scope'' replacement, and the result was Miyamoto designing ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]''. When ''Donkey Kong'' was released in 1981, it became a bestseller and marked the introduction of Mario. In 1983, Nintendo introduced the [[Family Computer]], distributing it abroad as the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] two years later. Its success in Japan and North America resulted in Nintendo becoming a dominant player in the video game industry and the revival of the industry in North America, which had been negatively affected by a crash in 1983. The most successful game for the NES, ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', further cemented Nintendo's dominance in the industry. The ''Super Mario'' franchise has since become Nintendo's flagship franchise and one of the most well-known brands to originate from video games.
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*[[Diddy Kong]]'s red cap has the Nintendo logo on it.
*[[Diddy Kong]]'s red cap has the Nintendo logo on it.
*Nintendo [[Gallery:Sponsors in the Mario Kart series|sponsors]] can be seen in the background of various ''[[Mario Kart (series)|Mario Kart]]'' courses and battle arenas.
*Nintendo [[Gallery:Sponsors in the Mario Kart series|sponsors]] can be seen in the background of various ''[[Mario Kart (series)|Mario Kart]]'' courses and battle arenas.
*In the ''[[Mario Party (series)|Mario Party]]'' series, the Nintendo logo, along with the [[Hudson Soft]] logo, appears on banners in various [[minigame]]s.
*In the [[Mario Party (series)|''Mario Party'' series]], the Nintendo logo, along with the [[Hudson Soft]] logo, appears on banners in various [[minigame]]s.
*In ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'', Nintendo, along with [[Rareware]], sponsors the boxing match between the [[Kong]]s and [[King K. Rool]] as mentioned by the [[Microphone]].  
*In ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'', Nintendo, along with [[Rareware]], sponsors the boxing match between the [[Kong]]s and [[King K. Rool]] as mentioned by the [[Microphone]].  
*In ''[[Mario Power Tennis]]'', the Nintendo logo appears on the [[Peach Dome]] court.
*In ''[[Mario Power Tennis]]'', the Nintendo logo appears on the [[Peach Dome]] court.
*In ''[[Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour]]'' and ''[[Mario Power Tennis]]'', [[Wario]] holds up the Nintendo sign when the game boots up while stating the company's name, laughing.
*In ''[[Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour]]'' and ''Mario Power Tennis'', [[Wario]] holds up the Nintendo sign when the game boots up while stating the company's name, laughing.
*In ''[[Mario Hoops 3-on-3]]'', the Nintendo logo, along with the [[Square Enix]] logo, appears on the arch next to the basket at [[Peach Field]] and on the banner and a large screen on the [[Mario Stadium (Mario Hoops 3-on-3)|Mario Stadium]] court.
*In ''[[Mario Hoops 3-on-3]]'', the Nintendo logo, along with the [[Square Enix]] logo, appears on the arch next to the basket at [[Peach Field]] and on the banner and a large screen on the [[Mario Stadium (Mario Hoops 3-on-3)|Mario Stadium]] court.
*In the ''[[Mario Baseball (series)|Mario Baseball]]'' series, the Nintendo logo appears on some signs in [[Mario Stadium (baseball stadium)|Mario Stadium]].
*In the ''[[Mario Baseball (series)|Mario Baseball]]'' series, the Nintendo logo appears on some signs in [[Mario Stadium (baseball stadium)|Mario Stadium]].
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|Jap=任天堂<br>ニンテンドー<br>ニンテンドウ
|Jap=任天堂<br>ニンテンドー<br>ニンテンドウ
|JapR=Nintendō
|JapR=Nintendō
|JapM=任天堂 is the formal name of the company; in {{wp|hiragana}} and {{wp|furigana}} form, it is written as にんてんどう. Each of the {{wp|kanji}} that make up its formal name mean the following:
|JapM=任天堂 is the formal name of the company; in {{wp|hiragana}} it is written as にんてんどう, two {{wp|Kana|kanas}} or {{wp|Mora (linguistics)#Japanese|moras}} {{wp|furigana|per kanji}}. Each of the {{wp|kanji}} that make up its formal name mean the following:
*任 (''nin'') means "responsibility", "work", or "obligation".
*任 (''nin'') means "responsibility", "work", or "obligation".
*天 (''ten'') means "sky".
*天 (''ten'') means "sky".
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*[https://www.nintendo.com/en_CA/ Official Canadian (English) website]
*[https://www.nintendo.com/en_CA/ Official Canadian (English) website]
*[https://www.nintendo.com/fr_CA/ Official Canadian (French) website]
*[https://www.nintendo.com/fr_CA/ Official Canadian (French) website]
*[https://www.nintendo.co.uk Official website for the UK and Ireland]
*[http://www.nintendo.com/es_LA/ Official Latin American website]
*[http://www.nintendo.com/es_LA/ Official Latin American website]
*[https://www.nintendo.com/pt_BR/ Official Brazilian website]
*[https://www.nintendo.com/pt_BR/ Official Brazilian website]
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*[https://www.nintendo.com/ph/ Official Filipino website]
*[https://www.nintendo.com/ph/ Official Filipino website]
*[https://www.nintendo.com/th/ Official Thai website]
*[https://www.nintendo.com/th/ Official Thai website]
*[https://www.nintendo.co.za Official South African website]
*[https://www.nintendoswitch.com.cn/ Official Mainland Chinese website]
*[https://www.nintendoswitch.com.cn/ Official Mainland Chinese website]


Revision as of 08:15, April 14, 2024

This article is about the Japanese company. For the console sometimes colloquially referred to as a Nintendo, see Nintendo Entertainment System. For the development team, see Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development.
Nintendo
Current Nintendo logo (2016-present): On May 11, 2016, several months after when Tatsumi Kimishima took the company helm, Nintendo's logo was changed to white-on-red. The gray logo, however, continues to be officially used as its corporate image.
Founded September 23, 1889
First Super Mario game Donkey Kong (1981)
Latest Super Mario game Princess Peach: Showtime! (2024)
Current president Shuntaro Furukawa

Nintendo is a video game company with its origins in Japan. Nintendo is the creator of many popular franchises, including the Super Mario franchise, and the company's mascot is Mario himself.

History

The company's signature red logo from 1985 to 2008, used internationally outside of Japan and Southeast Asia (top), and gray logo from 2006 to 2016 (bottom). The gray logo is still used in corporate pages.
The company's signature red logo from 1985 to 2008, used internationally outside of Japan and Southeast Asia (top), and gray logo from 2006 to 2016 (bottom). The gray logo is still used in corporate pages.
The company's signature red logo from 1985 to 2008, used internationally outside of Japan and Southeast Asia (top), and gray logo from 2006 to 2016 (bottom). The gray logo is still used in corporate pages.
Regions where Nintendo's products are available

Originally founded as a hanafuda playing card manufacturer in Kyoto, Japan, on September 23, 1889, Nintendo began exploring game-making after third president Hiroshi Yamauchi began diversifying the company's ventures. Nintendo entered the arcade industry in 1973 and the home console industry in 1977, simultaneously hiring Shigeru Miyamoto as a product designer. In 1978, Nintendo began making arcade video games, licensing titles to other companies for distribution outside Japan. In 1980, Nintendo established a North American division headed by Minoru Arakawa, and the first game that would be distributed by the American division would be Radar Scope. The game did not sell well in the United States, and a number of unsold cabinets remained in warehouses.

Arakawa asked Yamauchi if a new game could be developed and inserted into the unsold Radar Scope cabinets.[1] Yamauchi went through Nintendo's entire talent pool to see who could head the designing of a potential Radar Scope replacement, and the result was Miyamoto designing Donkey Kong. When Donkey Kong was released in 1981, it became a bestseller and marked the introduction of Mario. In 1983, Nintendo introduced the Family Computer, distributing it abroad as the Nintendo Entertainment System two years later. Its success in Japan and North America resulted in Nintendo becoming a dominant player in the video game industry and the revival of the industry in North America, which had been negatively affected by a crash in 1983. The most successful game for the NES, Super Mario Bros., further cemented Nintendo's dominance in the industry. The Super Mario franchise has since become Nintendo's flagship franchise and one of the most well-known brands to originate from video games.

Appearances in the Super Mario universe

The Nintendo logo appearing on Diddy Kong's cap and on the walls at Nintendo GameCube in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
The Nintendo logo appearing on Diddy Kong's cap and on the walls at Nintendo GameCube in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
The Nintendo logo appearing on Diddy Kong's cap and on the walls at Nintendo GameCube in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Home consoles

A collage of Nintendo consoles
A variety of Nintendo consoles and handhelds

Attachments and remodels

These consoles may have different names in different markets. The NES is known as Famicom in Japan; the SNES, subsequently as Super Famicom. In China, the Nintendo 64 was released under the name iQue Player.

1 - Although the Nintendo Switch can also function as a handheld console, it is primarily marketed as a home console by Nintendo.

Handheld consoles

Remodels

Releases of these consoles in China usually replace "Nintendo" in the name with "iQue." Examples are the iQue DS and the iQue 3DS XL.

Gallery

  • The blue Nintendo logo variant, used in Japanese versions of Nintendo games

    The blue Nintendo logo variant, used in Japanese versions of Nintendo games

  • The gold Nintendo logo from the start-up of Mario Kart 64

    The gold Nintendo logo from the start-up of Mario Kart 64

  • Sprite of a Nintendo logo variant, from Diddy Kong Racing DS

    Sprite of a Nintendo logo variant, from Diddy Kong Racing DS

  • The white Nintendo logo in a black background as seen in the first three Mario Party titles

    The white Nintendo logo in a black background as seen in the first three Mario Party titles

  • The Nintendo logo recreated in the Super Mario Bros. game style in Super Mario Maker

    The Nintendo logo recreated in the Super Mario Bros. game style in Super Mario Maker

  • Background featuring Super Mario characters created by Nintendo

    Background featuring Super Mario characters created by Nintendo

  • Artwork of Nintendo's Kyoto headquarters from its recruitment book, showing a Warp Pipe at the bottom left corner

    Artwork of Nintendo's Kyoto headquarters from its recruitment book, showing a Warp Pipe at the bottom left corner

See also

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning
Japanese 任天堂
ニンテンドー
ニンテンドウ
Nintendō
 任天堂 is the formal name of the company; in hiragana it is written as にんてんどう, two kanas or moras per kanji. Each of the kanji that make up its formal name mean the following:
  • 任 (nin) means "responsibility", "work", or "obligation".
  • 天 (ten) means "sky".
  • 堂 (dō) meaning "stately", "bless", or "sanctuary".
    • 天堂 (tendō) means "heaven".

ニンテンドー is a rough katakana form is used for the Japanese names of some consoles.
ニンテンドウ is another rough katakana form, written with the kana "u" (ウ) instead of the chōonpu character (ー). This name is only seen in Super Smash Bros.'s Japanese name.

This name comes from the Japanese saying 「運を天に任せる」(un o ten ni makaseru), meaning "To leave one's luck to heaven."

Chinese 任天堂
Rèntiāntáng
 -

Finnish Nintendon (Captain N: The Game Master)
Nintendo
 -
-
Greek Νιντέντο
Ninténto
 -

Hebrew נינטנדו
Nyntndv
 -

Korean 닌텐도
Nintendo
 -

Russian Нинтендо
Nintendo
 -

External links

Nintendo coverage on other NIWA wikis:

References

  1. ^ "IGN Presents: The History of Super Mario Bros."
[Edit]
Companies
Game companies Divisions and subsidiaries of Nintendo 1-UP Studio • iQue • Mario Club Co., Ltd. • NDcube • Next Level Games • Nintendo • †Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development • Nintendo Entertainment Planning and Development • †Nintendo Research & Development 1 • †Nintendo Research & Development 2 • †Nintendo Software Planning & Development • Nintendo Software Technology Corporation • †Nintendo System Development • Retro Studios • Treehouse
Third parties †AlphaDream • Arika • ArtePiazza • †Artoon • Arzest • Bandai Namco Entertainment • †Banpresto • †Bullet-Proof Software • Camelot Software Planning • Capcom • CAProduction • Game Arts • Game Freak • Good-Feel • GREZZO Co., Ltd. • GungHo Online Entertainment • HAL Laboratory • †Hudson Soft • Ikegami Tsushinki • Intelligent Systems • Interplay • Jupiter • Konami • Monster Games • †NovaLogic • Paon DP • Racjin • Radical Entertainment • Rare Ltd. • Royal Philips Electronics • Sega • Silverball Studios • Softnica • Sora Ltd. • Spike Chunsoft • Square Enix • †St.GIGA • †SUZAK Inc. • TOSE Software Co. • Treasure • Ubisoft • Velan Studios
Other companies Book publishers Guinness World Records • Prima Games • Scholastic • Shogakukan • Valiant Comics • Dark Horse Comics
Animation studios †DIC Entertainment • Illumination • †Medialab • Nelvana • †Pacific Rim Productions, Inc. • †Sei Young Animation Co., Ltd.
Home video distributors †Abbey Home Entertainment • Bim Bum Bam Video • Beyond Home Entertainment • Buena Vista Home Video • Disky Communications • Egmont Film • GoodView Home Video • HVN • IDP Home Video • †Kids Klassics • Lionsgate Home Entertainment • Maximum Entertainment • Manga Distribution • MRA Entertainment • NCircle Entertainment • On Air Video • Paramount Home Video • Pickwick Video • Pidax Film • Producciones Panther • Roadshow Entertainment • Sterling Entertainment Group • Shout! Factory • SMI url • Target • The Video Collection • UIG Entertainment GmbH • Universal Pictures • Wendros
Collectible / toy makers †Banpresto • Bioworld • BlackMilk Clothing • †ERTL • Fangamer • First4Figures • Furuta • Gelato Pique • Hallmark • Jakks Pacific • K'NEX • LEGO • Mattel • PopCo Entertainment • S.H. Figuarts • San-ei Co., Ltd. • Toy Biz
Food companies Burger King • Freiberger • Keebler • Kellogg's • McDonald's • Nagatanien • †Sunshine Biscuits • Taco Bell • Wendy's
Cosmetics companies Lush • shu uemura
Miscellaneous †MediaBrowser
† Defunct
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