Nintendo

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This article is about the Japanese video game company. For other uses, see Nintendo (disambiguation).
Nintendo
Current Nintendo logo (2016-present): On May 11, 2016, several months after when Tatsumi Kimishima took the company helm, Nintendo's logo was changed to white-on-red.
Logo since 2016
Founded September 23, 1889[1]
First Super Mario game Donkey Kong (1981)
Latest Super Mario game Yoshi and the Mysterious Book (2026)
Current president Shuntaro Furukawa

Nintendo is a Japanese video game company based in Kyoto. Nintendo is known for creating many successful video game consoles and franchises, including the Super Mario franchise, whose titular character serves as the company's mascot.

History

Originally founded as a hanafuda playing card manufacturer in Kyoto, Japan, on September 23, 1889, Nintendo began exploring game-making after third president Hiroshi Yamauchi began diversifying the company's ventures. Nintendo entered the arcade industry in 1973 and the home console industry in 1977, simultaneously hiring Shigeru Miyamoto as a product designer. In 1978, Nintendo began making arcade video games, licensing titles to other companies for distribution outside Japan. In 1980, Nintendo established a North American division headed by Minoru Arakawa, and the first game that would be distributed by the American division would be Radar Scope . The game did not sell well in the United States, and a number of unsold cabinets remained in warehouses.

Arakawa asked Yamauchi if a new game could be developed and inserted into the unsold Radar Scope cabinets.[2] Yamauchi went through Nintendo's entire talent pool to see who could head the designing of a potential Radar Scope replacement, and the result was Miyamoto designing Donkey Kong . When Donkey Kong was released in 1981, it became a bestseller and marked the introduction of Mario. In 1983, Nintendo introduced the Family Computer, distributing it abroad as the Nintendo Entertainment System two years later. Its success in Japan and North America resulted in Nintendo becoming a dominant player in the video game industry and the revival of the industry in North America, which had been negatively affected by a crash in 1983. The most successful game for the NES, Super Mario Bros. , further cemented Nintendo's dominance in the industry. The Super Mario franchise has since become Nintendo's flagship franchise and one of the most well-known brands to originate from video games.

Supported regions

First-party distribution

As a multinational company, Nintendo has established various regional divisions dedicated to marketing and sales of its products outside Japan, including Super Mario games, merchandise, and licensing, located in different gaming markets around the world, and all of them are wholly owned. Two major subsidiaries, Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe, have the authority to publish games autonomously. As of November 2025, these divisions include:

Third-party distribution

In addition to the above subsidiaries, over the years Nintendo has officially assigned various third-party distribution companies to represent it and its products (including Super Mario products) in certain markets. These partners may have the authority to handle marketing and sales, but they may vary and are overviewed by one of the three major divisions (NCL, NOA, NOE). Services provided may also vary depending on market or distributor. As of November 2025, the following partners include:

Formerly supported regions

The following regions are ones where Nintendo previously offered official distribution for its products, including Super Mario material, only to cease activity for various reasons:

Appearances in the Super Mario universe

Home consoles

A collage of Nintendo consoles
A variety of Nintendo systems

Attachments and remodels

These consoles may have different names in different markets. The NES is known as the Family Computer (or Famicom) in Japan; the Super NES, subsequently as the Super Famicom. In 2003, a plug-in gamepad device called the iQue Player was released exclusively in China, and in simple terms, it is considered a variant of the Nintendo 64.

Handheld consoles

Remodels

Between 2004 and 2018, Nintendo authorized the release of some of its portable consoles in the mainland Chinese market under the "iQue" brand. For example, the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo 3DS XL are referred to as the iQue DS and the iQue 3DS XL, respectively, in China.

Hybrid consoles

Remodel

Gallery

Naming

The name Nintendo comes from the Japanese sayingうんてんまかせる」(un o ten ni makaseru), meaning "to leave one's luck to heaven". Consequently, Nintendo officially translates its name as "Leave Luck to Heaven". However, the historical validity of this is disputed, as the kanji for "Nintendo" can be translated in multiple other ways (e.g., "Temple of Free Hanafuda", referencing the company's origins as a playing card company); late president Hiroshi Yamauchi admitted in The History of Nintendo that he did not actually know what "Nintendo" meant, stating that the official translation was accepted by the company only because it sounded like "a plausible explanation".[39]

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning Note(s) Ref.
Japanese 任天堂にんてんどう
Nintendō
The formal name of the company. Each of the kanji that make up its formal name means the following:
*にん(nin) means "responsibility", "work", or "obligation".
*てん(ten) means "sky".
*どう() means "stately", "bless", or "sanctuary".
**天堂てんどう (tendō) means "heaven".
[40]
ニンテンドー
Nintendō
Rough katakana form Used for the Japanese names of several systems and services such as Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS, Nintendo eShop, or Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo [41]
ニンテンドウ
Nintendō
Rough katakana form, retaining the kana「ウ」(u) instead of replacing it with the chōonpu 「ー」. Used in the Japanese names of the Nintendo Power service, the Nintendo 64, and Super Smash Bros. [42]
Arabic نينتندو
Nintendo
Nintendo [43]
Chinese 任天堂
Rèntiāntáng (Mandarin)
Yahmtīntòhng (Cantonese)
Borrowed from Japanese name with native pronunciations [44]
Dutch Nintendo - [45]
Greek Nintendo - [46]
Hebrew נינטנדו
Nintendo
Nintendo [26]
Korean 닌텐도
Nintendo
Nintendo [47]
Russian Nintendo - [48]
Spanish Nintendo - [49] [50]

See also

Footnotes and references

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c Has no dedicated account region option or Nintendo eShop, is part of the United States account region and Nintendo eShop; My Nintendo Store orders will also ship to this location
  2. ^ Has no dedicated account region option or Nintendo eShop, is part of the United States account region and Nintendo eShop; Nintendo products are also distributed and sold across retailers here, especially My Nintendo Store orders being shipped to this location
  3. ^ Has a dedicated account region option but no Nintendo eShop, its Nintendo eShop is instead part of the United States account region; My Nintendo Store orders will also ship to this location
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Only through the My Nintendo Store from other EU countries

References

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  2. ^ "IGN Presents: The History of Super Mario Bros."
  3. ^ a b c d e f "On 3rd March, Nintendo Switch will be available in the following European territories: Austria, Andorra, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hungary, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Russia, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Vatican. It will also be available in South Africa at the same timing." – Nintendo (January 13, 2017). Nintendo Switch launches on 3rd March!. Nintendo (official South African site) (English). Retrieved November 24, 2024. (Archived November 24, 2024, 23:43:36 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
  4. ^ September 30, 2025. Establishment of a local entity with the aim of accelerating business in Southeast Asia. Nintendo Malaysia. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  5. ^ Nintendo Taiwan Press Release. The current Taiwan subsidiary was founded on February 10, 2025, and all Nintendo businesses in Taiwan were transferred from NHL to Nintendo Taiwan on April 1, 2025.
  6. ^ November 21, 2025. การจัดตั้งบริษัทย่อยในต่างประเทศ โดยมีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อส่งเสริมธุรกิจในราชอาณาจักรไทย. Nintendo (Thai). Retrieved November 21, 2025.
  7. ^ Active Bokei K.K.. Active Bokei K.K. (English). Retrieved July 3, 2024. (Archived June 3, 2024, 05:14:24 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
  8. ^ Advanced Initiative. Advanced Initiative Co. Trdg. (English). Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Distributors Contact Details for Consumers. Nintendo UK (English). Retrieved February 27, 2025. (Archived September 10, 2025, 01:29:21 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
  10. ^ Joe Skrebels (December 9, 2019). The Lie That Helped Build Nintendo. IGN (English). Retrieved June 1, 2024. (Archived December 21, 2019, 23:17:14 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
  11. ^ Home. Bergsala (English). Retrieved September 26, 2024. (Archived June 14, 2024, 01:43:01 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
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  17. ^ Nintendo. ERC Uzbekistan (English). Retrieved May 2, 2025. (Archived March 2, 2025, 22:50:45 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
  18. ^ Ingram Micro Brasil. Security Business (Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  19. ^ a b September 18, 2020. Nintendo Switch Launches in Brazil, the First Nintendo Product to Go on Sale in the Country Since 2015. IGN. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  20. ^ Jeetek – Empowering Tech across the Middle East & Africa. Jeetek (English).
  21. ^ Juegos de Video Latinoamérica – JVLAT – Empresa dedicada a la comercialización exclusiva de marcas mundiales en América Latina y el Caribe. JVLAT (Latin American Spanish). Retrieved March 11, 2025. (Archived March 12, 2025, 05:18:52 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
  22. ^ October 11, 2024. BGS 2024: "O Brasil é muito importante para nós", diz Nintendo. Terra (Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  23. ^ October 18, 2025. Bill van Zyll, de Nintendo: "Con la Switch 2, en Argentina vemos una oportunidad muy grande". Cronista (Spanish). Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  24. ^ March 22, 2023. ซินเน็คฯ ถือครองตลาด NINTENDO ในประเทศไทยอย่างเป็นทางการ. Synnex (Thailand) (Thai). Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  25. ^ Takashi Moshizuki, Shan Li (April 18, 2019). Nintendo, With Tencent's Help, to Sell Switch Console in China. The Wall Street Journal (English). Retrieved July 3, 2024. (Archived December 6, 2019, 20:13:54 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
  26. ^ a b March 12, 2019. לראשונה בישראל – תור גיימינג משיקה את נינטנדו בארץ ביבוא רשמ. IGN Israel (Hebrew). Retrieved June 5, 2024. (Archived May 15, 2019, 03:34:09 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
  27. ^ a b Игорь Пичугин (November 1, 1994). Соглашение Steepler и Nintendo. Газета "Коммерсантъ" (Russian). Retrieved June 1, 2024. (Archived April 27, 2019, 02:58:42 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
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  33. ^ Desai, Sameer (September 16, 2008). "Nintendo Wii and DS to launch in India on September 30". Rediff News. Retrieved March 23, 2024. (Archived September 29, 2022, 14:05:16 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
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  38. ^ Leah J. Williams (June 1, 2023). Nintendo eShop to shut down in Russia. Gameshub (English). Retrieved July 6, 2024. (Archived February 25, 2024, 05:34:24 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
  39. ^ Brian Ashcraft (August 3, 2017). "Nintendo" Probably Doesn't Mean What You Think It Does. Kotaku (English). Retrieved September 16, 2024. (Archived August 19, 2024, 11:55:47 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
  40. ^ 任天堂ウェブサイトポリシー. Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Japanese).
  41. ^ 2014. ニンテンドーDS. Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Japanese). Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  42. ^ Nintendo 64 Japanese box art
  43. ^ نينتندو السعودية (الممثل الرسمي). X (Arabic). Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  44. ^ 每天送達的任天堂——《Nintendo Today!》現已發布。. Nintendo (Hong Kong) Ltd. (Traditional Chinese).
  45. ^ Privacybeleid van de Nintendo of Europe SE-website. Nintendo NL (Dutch).
  46. ^ Υποστήριξη Nintendo. CD Media (Greek).
  47. ^ 한국닌텐도. Nintendo of Korea (Korean).
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  49. ^ Política de Privacidad del sitio web de Nintendo of Europe SE. Nintendo ES (European Spanish).
  50. ^ Política de privacidad de Nintendo - Sitio oficial. Nintendo of America (Mexican Spanish).

External links

Companies
Game companies Divisions and subsidiaries of Nintendo 1-UP StudioiQueMario Club Co., Ltd.Monolith SoftNext Level GamesNintendoNintendo CubeNintendo Entertainment Analysis & DevelopmentNintendo Entertainment Planning & DevelopmentNintendo Research & Development 1Nintendo Research & Development 2Nintendo Software Planning & DevelopmentNintendo Software Technology CorporationNintendo System DevelopmentRetro StudiosTreehouse
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