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Nintendo is celebrating its 130th birthday today

The gaming giant responsible for Mario, Legend of Zelda, and more is celebrating its 130th birthday today.

Josh Hawkins

September 23, 2019 10:50 AM

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September 23, 1889, that’s the day that Fusajiro Yamauchi founded what would one day become Nintendo, one of the biggest gaming companies in the world. With massive franchises like Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Super Smash Bros. behind it, Nintendo has made quite the name for itself over the past 130 years.

But, Nintendo wasn’t always a video game company. According to Nintendo Life, the company actually started out as a hanafuda playing card company. Playing cards weren’t the only thing that Nintendo tried to do, either. In 1963, Hiroshi Yamauchi, who replaced his grandfather as President tried to expand the company into several different types of businesses, including Love Hotels, food producers, and taxi services. Of course, these things didn’t quite work out, and eventually, the company would go on to start creating video games and video game consoles.

If you’d like to read more about Nintendo’s storied history, then I highly suggest heading over to Nintendo Life. The writers over there have an almost unmatched love for the Japanese gaming giant, and five years ago they wrote up a very intriguing piece of Nintendo’s history and growth as a company. It’s a read well worth making time for and one that you, as a Nintendo fan, won’t be disappointed with.

Of course, in this day and age, the Nintendo that we know is quite different from the Nintendo that started out. The company’s evolution has been an intriguing one to say the least, but it has all led us here, to the 130th birthday of one of gaming’s most iconic companies. A company that has changed the lives of millions of people around the world by providing them with heart-stirring adventures and encouraging experiences. If you don’t do anything else today, at least take a little time to show that Nintendo Switch sitting on your entertainment center a little love. It’s a fantastic little device and its creators have quite a story to tell you if you’re willing to just sit down and listen for a while.

Happy birthday Nintendo, we can’t wait to see what you do next.

Josh Hawkins

Guides Editor

Joshua holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and has been exploring the world of video games for as long as he can remember. He enjoys everything from large-scale RPGs to small, bite-size indie gems and everything in between.