Nintendo Timeline

  • Fujasiro Yamauchi starts business in gaming

    Fujasiro Yamauchi starts business in gaming
    Fujasiro Yamauchi begins manufacturing "Hanafuda" (flower cards) game cards in japan.
  • Period: to

    The lifespan of Nintendo so far

  • Period: to

    The History of Nintendo

  • Yamauchi brings western-style cards into Japan.

    Yamauchi brings western-style cards into Japan.
    These Western-themed playing cards were supposed to be sold off elsewhere, but they became very popular in Japan and the rest of the world. the card company expands.
  • Yamauchi Nintendo and co. is founded

    Yamauchi Nintendo and co. is founded
    Yamauchi founds the company Nintendo, and still focuses on the playing card industry.
  • Hiroshi Yamauchi takes over as president

    Hiroshi Yamauchi takes over as president
    Fujasiro Yamauchi hands the operation of Nintendo and co. down to his son, Hiroshi, who headed the manufacturing of Nintendo and co.
  • Nintendo distributes plastic cards

    Nintendo distributes plastic cards
    Nintendo becomes the first game company to successfully distribute plastic playing cards of any type in Japan.
  • Nintendo prints disney-themed cards

    Nintendo prints disney-themed cards
    Nintendo decides to print cards of walt disney characters. Children all over are smitten with the plastic/paper rectangles, and Nintendo's decision results in a boom in the cards market.
  • Nintendo begins to develop games!

    Nintendo begins to develop games!
    Nintendo invests in game development as well as the cards market. This was obviously a good decision.
  • Nintendo uses the microprocessor!

    Nintendo uses the microprocessor!
    The first microprocessor was employed in a Nintendo video-gaming system.
  • Mario is first introduced to Nintendo!

    Mario is first introduced to Nintendo!
    The first Donkey Kong game was created in 1980, with a main character called "Jumpman" (To be renamed later as Mario), who tries repeatedly to rescue a woman named Pauline from a crazed ape (Donkey Kong).
  • The first ever game boy is released!

    The first ever game boy is released!
    The game boy, the first ever hand-held, portable gaming device with interchangeable game cartridges was released in 1989 in Japan along with Tetris.
  • Nintendo sells its 1 billionth game cartridge

    Nintendo sells its 1 billionth game cartridge
    After only six years, Nintendo manages to sell a staggering one billion game cartridges.
  • Pokemon is released to the rest of the world!

    Pokemon is released to the rest of the world!
    Nintendo releases the wildly popular pokemon games to europe in 1999.
  • The game boy reaches extreme popularity

    The game boy reaches extreme popularity
    Nintendo's Game Boy becomes the most popular gaming console in history as it had sold 100 million copies at that point
  • The nintendo DS is launched in Europe

    The nintendo DS is launched in Europe
    In June, just a couple months after the DS was released in Europe, it sold a total of 1 million copies throughout the continent.
  • The Nintendo Wii is released!

    The Nintendo Wii is released!
    The Wii is released at the end of the year and becomes very popular among people who played Nintendo's games before, and those who never really interacted with video games.
  • Super Mario Galaxy 2 kicks off!

    Super Mario Galaxy 2 kicks off!
    At the beginning of summer, Super Mario Galaxy 2 kicks off with the return of Yoshi, interesting new powerups and game mechanics.
  • The Wii U and 3DS XL are both released!

    The Wii U and 3DS XL are both released!
    Both of these futuristic new gaming consoles are released during the same year, massively increasing Nintendo's popularity and account balance. This is easily one of the biggest events in Nintendo's recent history.