Nintendo is one of Japan’s biggest and most famous exports. It’s been entertaining millions of gamers for years, raking in huge profits in the process. This wasn’t always the case, however, because it initially produced playing cards when it was founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi in 1889. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the company started making inroads in the burgeoning video games market with arcade machines. Nintendo then had the novel of idea of creating a cartridge based home console and the rest, as they say, is history. Let’s run through some of their most famous products and their impact.

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

In 1983, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was launched in Japan and changed the home video game console market forever. This pioneering machine was an 8-bit video game console, the like of which no one had ever seen before. It was a simple piece of kit, which you would simply connect to your TV. A far cry from a typical home console at the time which required a keyboard, cassette drive and wireless accessories. The NES felt like it was accessible to anyone, not just the technophiles. The console launched with the games Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. and Popeye, and almost immediately sales went through the roof becoming Japan’s best-selling games console by the end of 1984. Encouraged by its popularity, Nintendo launched the NES to the American consumer in 1986 with 17 launch titles including Duck Hunt, Hogan’s Alley, Kung Fu and a little game called Super Mario Bros. This launch revitalized the sluggish video game market in North America, and by 1988 Nintendo had sold seven million consoles, eating up the video games market with 83% of the market share. The console’s slogan “It can’t be beaten” seemed a fitting description of the state of affairs at the time. The NES transformed the fortunes of Nintendo from a business that produced playing-cards into a leading video games manufacturer worth billions of dollars, selling a total of over 61 million units of the console. And along with the launch of the Gameboy in 1989, which sold a total of 119 million units in its lifespan, Nintendo reigned supreme in the video game world. 

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)

It was always going to be hard to top the NES, but Nintendo pulled out all the stops with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Replacing the old 8-bit system with a faster 16-bit one, this console was released in Japan in 1990 and 1991 in North America. Boasting improved graphics and sound quality, the consoles flew off the shelves on day one of its release and would go on to be the best-selling console of the 16-bit era with over 49 million consoles sold (23 million of which were sold in the United States). To give a comparison of how it left the competition in the dust SEGA, Nintendo’s closest rivals, sold 30 million of its Mega Drive systems. Although not eclipsing the NES in terms of sales, this console remains a favorite with gamers in terms of the quality of its original games, control pads and graphics, and it regularly tops the lists of best consoles of all time. 

The N64

At a time when Nintendo was leading the video game market, the pressure was on to maintain its success. The company hoped the N64 would continue their domination with its release in 1996. This console looked futuristic, cool, and boasted a fantastically designed controller. At the time, competition was fierce with the PlayStation and Sega Saturn luring customers away from the Nintendo brand. But, as always, Nintendo could rely on its quality first-party games to attract customers. One of their launch games was the cutting-edge Super Mario 64, which received rave reviews for its 360-degree gameplay. Other games received critical acclaim including Goldeneye, which became one of the most influential first-person shooter games ever, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time pioneered 3D action-adventure games. Even though the N64 sold nearly 33 million consoles and was well received among gamers, it couldn’t match the popularity of the juggernaut that was the PlayStation, which sold over 102 million consoles. Some say this was because of the N64’s lack of games as a result of a loss of third party developer support due to the limitations of making games on its custom made cartridges, whereas the PlayStation offered more flexibility on its disc platform. Furthermore, the N64 games were expensive compared with the competition. For the first time, Nintendo was no longer the leading video game console brand. A different change of approach was needed - and fast. 

GameCube

With the arrival of the GameCube in 2001, the main competition was the PlayStation 2 and the Microsoft Xbox – two consoles that were hitting the sweet spot with gamers, thanks to its range of quality of games and graphics. The GameCube was the first Nintendo console to use discs for its games. The console was a lot smaller than previous Nintendo home consoles and looked like a cute and colorful toy box compared to the cool blackness of the Xbox and PlayStation 2 which looked as if they had been ripped from the control panel of a space ship. The marketing strategies between Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo were decidedly different as well. While PlayStation and Xbox aggressively targeted teenagers and young adults with edgy advertising and mature gaming content like Grand Theft Auto, Nintendo focused more on its family-friendly appeal which turned off a lot of hard-core gamers. In total, the GameCube sold 22 million consoles, placing it behind the Xbox’s 24 million and well behind the PlayStation 2, which sold a massive 155 million consoles, making it the best-selling console of all time. Seeing the lack of sales for the GameCube, many third-party developers who intended to exclusively work with Nintendo, focused their attention on releasing their games on other consoles. Overall, GameCube sales were lackluster compared to other Nintendo console sales. Work needed to be done to win back customers. 

Wii & Wii U

In 2006, Nintendo released the Wii, a console that wowed the world with its innovative gameplay. It required a physical element, which made it more immersive and family-orientated. Some used the console as a traditional games system, while others used it to exercise and keep fit. This helped boost sales as it attracted people of all ages. However, this type of physical gameplay hindered the console from attracting a wide range of third-party developers. Furthermore, core-gamers questioned whether the console was aimed at them or for people wanting to practice yoga. Despite this concern, the Wii was instantly successful due to its uniqueness and reasonable price tag. And despite its detractors, it has sold a whopping 101 million consoles to date, making it the 5th best-selling console of all time. However, it was clear that the Wii couldn’t keep up with advances of the PlayStation and Xbox. Especially since these two companies developed motion-sense technology, which made the Wii’s “gimmick” seem less unique. The follow-up release in 2012, the Wii U, was a sleek and modern-looking HD gaming console that sought to compete with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 360, but sales were weak and received lukewarm reviews - citing confusing usability and a lack of quality games. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that Nintendo decided to pull the plug on the Wii U. 

Cultural Impact

It’s fair to say that Nintendo has experienced its ups and downs through the years. From dominating the video games market in its early years, to trying to keep up with the competition in the present day. But it undoubtedly still packs a punch in terms of its original games and cultural status. It has pioneered the business of the video game market and has set the template of modern gameplay. It has introduced computer game characters we know and love from Super Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda. It has constantly tried to innovate with varying degrees of success - from the point and shoot Duck Hunt game of the 80s, to the immersive, world-building and innovative Pokémon Go today. The love of Nintendo remains strong, both for its glory-days of the 80s and 90s, (with many buying retro Nintendo consoles such as the mini-NES) and for its exciting future. But it doesn’t just pump out video games, Nintendo has also stamped its name on a whole swathe of merchandising products (including a dedicated store in New York called Nintendo NY), theme parks (with a “Nintendoland” in the works), and assisting Japan’s marketing for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, with a little help from Super Mario. Its reputation precedes itself with a jaw-dropping 722 million consoles sold to date. The bar has been set very high for the company. The challenge is to continue to raise that bar with every console release they put out. Even if they fall short, you can be in no doubt that they will give it their best shot.