Long before Mario jumped on Goombas and Link saved Hyrule, Nintendo was in the business of selling beautifully decorated playing cards in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889, by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi, Nintendo Koppai specialized in hanafuda—ornate "flower cards" featuring 48 cards with floral designs divided into 12 suits representing the months of the year.

At the time, most card manufacturers had abandoned the market due to its association with gambling and organized crime. Yamauchi took the risk, and within a few years, Nintendo became Japan's primary hanafuda producer.

Going Global with Western Cards

In 1902, Nintendo made a bold move: manufacturing Japan's first Western-style playing cards. These "trump" cards (トランプ in Japanese) opened new markets beyond traditional hanafuda players. By 1953, Nintendo achieved another first—producing playing cards from plastic, a material innovation that set them apart from competitors.

For decades, Nintendo remained strictly in the card and game business. They experimented with instant rice, taxi services, and even love hotels before finding their true calling. The company didn't enter the video game industry until the 1970s, starting with arcade games and electronic toys.

The Gaming Revolution

The transformation truly began in 1977 when Nintendo hired a young artist named Shigeru Miyamoto, who would go on to create Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., and The Legend of Zelda. The 1983 launch of the Famicom (known as the Nintendo Entertainment System in the West) revolutionized home gaming and saved the industry after the 1983 video game crash.

Today, Nintendo is worth approximately £58 billion and stands as one of the most recognizable entertainment brands globally. But here's the kicker: they still make playing cards. Their Kyoto headquarters continues producing hanafuda and traditional Japanese card games alongside Switch consoles and video game franchises.

From Flowers to Power-Ups

What's remarkable isn't just that Nintendo pivoted from cards to consoles—it's that they maintained their core philosophy throughout. Whether crafting hanafuda in 1889 or designing the Switch in 2017, Nintendo has always focused on playful innovation and quality craftsmanship. The same attention to detail that went into hand-painted flower cards now goes into creating immersive gaming experiences.

The legacy of those original hanafuda cards lives on in unexpected ways. Nintendo's playing card heritage influenced their approach to game design: simple to learn, difficult to master, and built to last. That 134-year journey from a small card shop in Kyoto to a global gaming powerhouse proves that sometimes the best strategy is to play the long game.

Related Tags