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Nintendo
need very little introduction. From their beginnings
as humble toy and playing card manufacturers, they cunningly
stepped in to re-ignite the home video game market from
the ashes of the defunct Atari, turning their Family
Computer console (known as the 'Nintendo Entertainment
System' in the West) into the most successful home entertainment
device of the 80s.
Interestingly, they did this by both providing extraordinary
games, and by employing some of the most ruthless and
immoral business practices the world has ever seen...
The three Japanese kanji characters that form the word
Nintendo roughly translate as 'leave luck to heaven'
- but anyone familiar enough with Nintendo's business
practices during the 80s know that when it comes down
to the real reasons behind Nintendo's success story,
luck has nothing to do with it. |
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Nintendo
Koppai began as a small family business, set up
toward the end of 1889 in Kyoto by 31-year-old
Fujisaro Yamauchi. His chosen trade was to design,
manufacture and market plating cards. Dozens of
different card types were produced, but it was
Nintendo's traditional hand-made Hanafuda cards
(pictured left) that proved to be the most successful.
The company expanded accordingly to meet demand,
and by the mid-1930s Nintendo had become Japan's
largest card manufacturer. |
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Nintendo's
post-war period, under the guidance of Yamauchi's
ambitious grandson Hiroshi, was one of great change
for the company. Interest in traditional card
games had waned, and despite managing to strike
a deal with Disney to feature their characters
of Nintendo cards, the company had seemingly maximised
their potential in their industry.
Throughout the sixties, Nintendo tried to expand
into a wide range of different businesses: a taxi
company, instant noodles, a TV network, and even
modern-day brothels (which are amusingly disguised
as 'love hotels' in Japan).
Out of all of the abovementioned attempts to expand
out of the playing card business, the only real
success Nintendo saw was in the only field in
which they had any experience: the toy industry.
In 1966, the 'Ultra Hand' (above) became a massive
surprise hit for Nintendo. Essentially nothing
but an extendable plastic grip, the Ultra Hand
became an overnight hit for Nintendo, selling
out faster than the units could be produced. |
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The
first model was rapidly followed up by two variants:
the 'Ultra Machine' (1968), and then finally the
'Ultra Scope' (1971, left) a device that allowed
the user(s) to peer over and around obstacles.
It was clear that the toy market was the place
where Nintendo felt the most comfortable, and
by the mid-70s it was clear in which direction
it was heading: rapid technological advances saw
cheaply produced home video game devices already
make an appearance in the US, so in turn Nintendo
decided to develop and release their first home
video game console. |
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The
1977 Color TV Game 6 (above) was a reasonable
success in Japan's fast booming electronic games
market: it provided 6 variants of the standard
2-player 'bat & ball' game, playable via two
dials placed on the front of the unit.
An upgraded unit, the 'Color TV Game 15' followed
in 1978 featuring 15 different game variants.
It was met with an even better reception the the
first model, mainly because it incorporated two
detachable controllers, making play a far less
crowded affair. |
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The
only problem was the numerous other competitors
launching their Pong variants onto the marketplace.
Nintendo sought variety by rapidly releasing a
'Color TV Racing' variant featuring a steering
wheel, and a one-player 'Color TV Block Kusure'
machine in 1979.
Nintendo's 'Block Breaking' machine (pictured
left) sold well - it presented simple, colourful
and responsive variants of 'Breakout' for one
player.
Sales further convinced Nintendo of the potential
that lay in this ever growing videogame market.
In 1980 they released one last stand-alone machine,
the 'Computer TV Game' and began their Game &
Watch range. |
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Radar Scope (1980) |
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Donkey Kong (1981) |
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Arm Wrestling (1985) |
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The
nascent arcade industry of the late 70s also caught
Nintendo's eye. Their first arcade effort was
Block Fever (1978), a run-of-the-mill bat &
ball game that was rapidly swallowed up in the
highly competitive filed of the period. A number
of half-baked 'invader clones' also failed to
make much of a splash - it wasn't until the release
of Donkey
Kong (1981) that Nintendo would get their
first taste of success.
Initially commissioned as an emergency replacement
for unsold Radar Scope cabinets, Nintendo's cunning
action platform game went on to become a worldwide
smash, earning the company revenue the likes of
which the company had never seen... After two
successful sequels (Donkey Kong Jr. and Donkey
Kong 3) and a spin-off (Mario Bros.), Nintendo
would turn their attention to a far more lucrative
aspect of the games industry: the home market.
By this point Atari had all but stormed the US
and European markets with their VCS 2600 machine
- a games console with interchangeable cartridges.
But Atari's gross mismanagement of their lead
saw them drop out of the industry by 1984. Nintendo
quickly seized their chance: their final arcade
release, Arm Wrestling (left) appeared in 1984,
and they focused all of their energies on the
release of their own games console: the Family
Computer. |
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Color TV Game 6
1977, Model CTG-6V |
Color TV Game 15
1978, Model CTG-15V |
Color TV Racing 112
1978, Model CTG-CR112 |
Color TV Block Kusure
1979, Model CTG-BK6 |
Computer TV Game
1980, Model CTG-HC10 |
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Space
Fever High Splitter |
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Super
Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party
スーパーマリオ 不思議のころころパーティ |
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Super
Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party 2
スーパーマリオ 不思議のころころパーティ2 |
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Donkey
Kong Banana Kingdom |
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Super
Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher
マリオパーティ ふしぎのコロコロキャッチャー |
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'Nintendo' and the Nintendo logo are
registered trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd.
TM & © Nintendo All Rights Reserved
Page content, design & layout © 2008 www.jap-sai.com |
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