Nintendo’s crazy business before video game success

Everyone knows Nintendo. This Japanese company entertainment features, some of most popular franchises from the history of video games. Exclusive items that sell very well along with famous games such as Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Legend of Zelda or Super Mario Odyssey. In addition, Nintendo continues to produce its own video game console. bestseller in Japan and that it sells very well in the rest of the world without entering into the Sony and Microsoft generational war. But there was a time when Nintendo business They had almost nothing to do with video games. Moreover, they have not yet been invented.

Nintendo starts in video game sector in the 70s of the last century. As the official website of the Japanese giant briefly indicates, in 1970, “sales of the series began.” Ray gun which used optoelectronics. First time in Japan electronics for the toy industry” The device in question was Magnavox Odyssey. A gaming console with a light gun for use in games like the one mentioned above. Nintendo itself indicates that in 1973, ” laser shooting system The company’s development is replacing bowling as a major pastime in Japan.”

However, the history of Nintendo begins a long time ago, in 1889. That year Fusajiro Yamauchi Begin make japanese playing cards Hanafuda in the Japanese city of Kyoto. The company’s original name was Yamauchi Nintendo. And the success of these DIY playing cards He soon organized their mass production with the help of several employees. But Nintendo’s pre-video game business went even further.

Nintendo, Disney and Japanese playing cards

Meiji Government of Japan in 1886 legalize gambling. Or to be more precise, games with bets. Fusajiro Yamauchi sees this opportunity and starts a playing card business. Hanafuda, then common in this corner of the planet. And as usually happens in this type of business, the betting and card gaming sector turned out to be in the hands of the Yakuza. Consequently, Nintendo’s main customers belonged to this alliance. And by 1953, Nintendo was already main Japanese company production of playing cards and playing cards.

In 1956, Nintendo’s business fell into the hands of Hiroshi Yamauchi, the company’s third president. To expand his business, he decides to go to the USA. and on your journey reaches agreement with Disney to include its characters on your playing cards. By that time, Nintendo was already selling all kinds of maps and even books describing game modes. The growth is such that in 1963 it changed its name since then, Nintendo Playing Card Company, from Nintendo, simply. And it is expanding its catalog of goods and services. Largely thanks to the funding received after listing on the second section of the Osaka Stock Exchange and the Kyoto Stock Exchange.

Interestingly, in addition to classic and Disney-themed cards, Nintendo also had a line of playing cards with obscene topic. He even had playing cards in which he appeared. Images of Marilyn Monroe straight out of Playboy. He also sold cards of lower quality than the originals under different commercial names.

Hotels for love

Hiroshi Yamauchi decided to expand beyond Nintendo’s business by focusing on game cards and tried his luck in various sectors. One of the most devoted were the love hotels, Hotels for love in English. A euphemism for establishments in which rooms are rented hourly. A lucrative business that remains relatively popular in Japan and is used by, among others, first-time couples, lovers or professionals in the field of prostitution.

Without going into detail, Nintendo had several of these hotels in Kyoto. It’s more. Evil tongues say that Yamauchi himself, who was married, was a regular at some of these establishments. And that he and some of his friends visited these establishments for free. True or not, this field of activity did not bear fruitdespite the success of love hotels in the 60s and 70s.

Your own taxi company

Another Nintendo Business strangers in family form This entertainment company has a taxi service. Among the many businesses in which Hiroshi Yamauchi has tried his luck since 1960, we find taxi company call Daya, diamond in Spanish. Part of this had its reasons for being related to the aforementioned hotel hourly business. And they both failed.

As Mary Firestone explains in her book Nintendo: the company and its foundersAlthough the taxi company started off well in terms of profits, it did not last long. The reason is that those in charge paid their employees very little. Tired of these bullying, they decided to complain and demand better working conditions. His employers’ decision was to close the company.

Fast food

One of the many products that has traveled the world from Japan is fast food. Or, more specifically, instant soups and noodles. This is an economical, if not very healthy, way to satisfy your hunger without getting your hands dirty or wasting time on cooking. The food in question arrives dehydrated and for it to be edible, all it needs is boiling water.

Among the many businesses that Yamauchi founded, one that stands out is a fast food company that… It consisted mainly of rice., noodles and other quickly consumed foods that we have all seen in supermarkets and in Japanese fiction. However, this part of the market has already been occupied by well-known companies that have been operating in this sector for years. Another setback for Nintendo, which wanted to be more than just a playing card maker.

Detailed LEGO style toys

Nintendo was born as adult company. Card games included gambling. And the subsequent businesses that Yamauchi tried to start were also aimed at an adult audience. The only exception was Disney themed playing cards. So why not dedicate yourself make toys? In line with this idea, Nintendo’s business expanded through various offerings. One of them was inspired by the popular LEGO.

under the name Block N&BNintendo started selling spare parts kits which inevitably resembled already known LEGOs. The only difference was that LEGO was a replacement for Nintendo and that connecting parts These were half circles compared to the Danish company’s full circles. Which doesn’t surprise us today, since there are many companies doing the same thing, but mostly from China.

The similarities in the parts themselves and even in the advertising of the product were such that LEGO inevitably sued Nintendo for infringing its patents. And although Nintendo inexplicably won the case, they decided to stop production its plastic parts.

Massive board games

We might find it strange that a playing card company sells video games. But these are two interrelated sectors, since they both satisfy need to have fun. The same goes for board games. In the 1960s, Nintendo wanted to capitalize on the success of board games, many of which imported from USA.

Nintendo licensed several board games from MB (Milton Bradley) And Parker Brothers. He also bought licenses for Disney characters and Japanese cartoons. And from that moment on, Nintendo began producing games known in the United States, such as Twister, and others, more original, such as Ultra Hand. Its inventor was Gunpei Yokoiin charge of the love machine and gameboy, among other iconic Nintendo products. It was a plastic device that allowed you to lengthen or shorten it. It had two handles on one side and two grippy parts on the other. sold more than a million units. And it was one of the first big successes of Nintendo’s non-playing card ventures.

Love machine

Who wouldn’t want to know if their partner is perfect? Solution: Try the Love Machine or Love tester. Nintendo created your own love machine in 1969. An electronic toy inspired by the polygraph or truth machine. And it didn’t really do anything other than entertain, like Hasbro’s Ouija.

The love machine already existed on a large scale in public places in Japan, such as bowling alleys or cocktail bars. But the Nintendo version was meant to be purchased and used at home. The machine consisted of two electrodes. And the dial of the machine moved upon contact. For this to happen, two people had to touch the machine and hold hands. The same principle that popularized séances in the early 20th century. Reason for intimacy.

“Rumba” with remote control

At the end of 1970, Nintendo was already beginning to be the Nintendo we all know. His great successes in the field Board games they gave go to electronics. Nintendo begins production of its first home consoles in collaboration with Mitsubishi Electric. TV game 15 And TV game 6.

Being so familiar with electronics, Nintendo decides to produce your home vacuum cleaner. A kind of “rumba” with remote control, ideal for cleaning small surfaces. His name was Nintendo Chiritori and it was small in size, although its design would be quite useful today. Unfortunately, technology of that time It was not like the current one. No motion sensors, no lithium batteries. In short, strive, strive little. He also could not travel long distances because it was very slow. Chiritory was also the invention of Gunpei Yokoi, the father of the Game Boy and Ultra Hand.