When was Nintendo founded and by whom?
Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo on the 23rd of September 1889 as an unincorporated establishment to produce and distribute hanafuda playing cards in Kyoto.
Common questions about Nintendo
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who created the character Mario for Nintendo?
The character Jumpman, who later became Mario, was named after Mario Segale, the landlord of Nintendo's offices in Tukwila, Washington.
What was the first handheld video game console released by Nintendo?
Nintendo released the Game Boy in 1989, which became one of the most successful products in the company's history and sold 300,000 units in its first two weeks of sale in Japan.
When did Satoru Iwata become president of Nintendo?
Satoru Iwata was selected as the successor to Hiroshi Yamauchi in 2002, ending the Yamauchi succession at the helm of the company that had been in place since its foundation.
When was the Nintendo Switch 2 released and how many units did it sell?
The Nintendo Switch 2 was released on the 5th of June 2025, and Nintendo reported on the 10th of June that it had sold more than 3.5 million units worldwide.
What subsidiaries does Nintendo own as of 2025?
Nintendo owns subsidiaries including HAL Laboratory, Intelligent Systems, Game Freak, and gained full ownership of Monolith Soft in November 2024, while acquiring Bandai Namco Studios Singapore starting with an 80% stake on the 1st of April 2026.