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Nintendo
need very little introduction. From their beginnings
as humble toy and playing card manufacturers, they
cunningly stepped in to re-ignite the home video game
market from the ashes of the defunct Atari, turning
their Family Computer console (aka the 'Nintendo NES'
in the West) into one of the most successful home
entertainment devices of the 80s.
Interestingly, they did this by both providing extraordinary
games, and by employing some of the most ruthless
business practices the world has ever seen... The
three Japanese kanji characters that form the word
Nintendo roughly translate as 'leave luck to heaven'
- but anyone familiar enough with Nintendo's business
practices during the 80s know that when it comes down
to the real reasons behind Nintendo's success story,
luck has nothing to do with it. |
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Nintendo
Koppai began as a small family business, set up toward
the end of 1889 in Kyoto by 31-year-old Fujisaro Yamauchi.
His chosen trade was to design, manufacture and market
plating cards. Dozens of different card types were
produced, but it was Nintendo's traditional hand-made
Hanafuda cards (pictured left) that proved to be the
most successful. The company expanded accordingly
to meet demand, and by the mid-1930s Nintendo had
become Japan's largest card manufacturer.
Nintendo's post-war period, under the guidance of
Yamauchi's ambitious grandson Hiroshi, was one of
great change for the company. Interest in traditional
card games had waned, and despite managing to strike
a deal with Disney to feature their characters of
Nintendo cards, the company had seemingly maximised
their potential in their industry.
Throughout the sixties, Nintendo tried to expand into
a wide range of different businesses: a taxi company,
instant noodles, a TV network, and even modern-day
brothels (which are amusingly disguised as 'love hotels'
in Japan). |
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Out
of all of the abovementioned attempts to expand out
of the playing card business, the only real success
Nintendo saw was in the only field in which they had
any experience: the toy industry. In 1966, the 'Ultra
Hand' (above) became a massive surprise hit for Nintendo.
Essentially nothing but an extendable plastic grip,
the Ultra Hand became an overnight hit for Nintendo,
selling out faster than the units could be produced.
The first model was rapidly followed up by two variants:
the 'Ultra Machine' (1968), and then finally the 'Ultra
Scope' (1971, left) a device that allowed the user(s)
to peer over and around obstacles.
It was clear that the toy market was the place where
Nintendo felt the most comfortable, and by the mid-70s
it was clear in which direction it was heading: rapid
technological advances saw cheaply produced home video
game devices already make an appearance in the US,
so in turn Nintendo decided to develop and release
their first home video game console. |
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The
1977 Color TV Game 6 (above) was a reasonable success
in Japan's fast booming electronic games market: it
provided 6 variants of the standard 2-player 'bat
& ball' game, playable via two dials placed on
the front of the unit.
An upgraded unit, the 'Color TV Game 15' followed
in 1978 featuring 15 different game variants. It was
met with an even better reception the the first model,
mainly because it incorporated two detachable controllers,
making play a far less crowded affair.
The only problem was the numerous other competitors
launching their Pong variants onto the marketplace.
Nintendo sought variety by rapidly releasing a 'Color
TV Racing' variant featuring a steering wheel, and
a one-player 'Color TV Block Kusure' machine in 1979.
Nintendo's 'Block Breaking' machine (pictured left)
sold well - it presented simple, colourful and responsive
variants of 'Breakout' for one player. Sales further
convinced Nintendo of the potential that lay in this
ever growing videogame market, and one last stand-alone
machine, the 'Computer TV Game', appeared in 1980. |
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Radar Scope (1980) |
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Donkey Kong (1981) |
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Arm Wrestling (1985) |
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The
nascent arcade industry of the late 70s also caught
Nintendo's eye. Their first arcade effort was Block
Fever (1978), a run-of-the-mill bat & ball game
that was rapidly swallowed up in the highly competitive
filed of the period. A number of half-baked 'invader
clones' also failed to make much of a splash - it
wasn't until the release of Donkey
Kong (1981) that Nintendo would get their first
taste of success.
Initially commissioned as an emergency replacement
for unsold Radar Scope cabinets, Nintendo's cunning
action platform game went on to become a worldwide
smash, earning the company revenue the likes of
which the company had never seen... After two successful
sequels (Donkey Kong Jr. and Donkey Kong 3) and
a spin-off (Mario Bros.), Nintendo would turn their
attention to a far more lucrative aspect of the
games industry: the home market.
By this point Atari had all but stormed the US and
European markets with their VCS 2600 machine - a
games console with interchangeable cartridges. But
Atari's gross mismanagement of their lead saw them
drop out of the industry by 1984. Nintendo quickly
seized their chance: their final arcade release,
Arm Wrestling (left) appeared in 1984, and they
focused all of their energies on the release of
their own games console: the Family
Computer.
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Color TV Game 6
1977, Model CTG-6V |
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Color TV Game 15
1978, Model CTG-15V |
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Color TV Racing 112
1978, Model CTG-CR112 |
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Color TV Block Kusure
1979, Model CTG-BK6 |
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Computer TV Game
1980, Model CTG-HC10 |
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Family Computer
1983, Model HVC-001 |
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1979 |
Space
Fever High Splitter |
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1984 |
VS.
Stroke & Match Golf |
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1985 |
VS.
Stroke & Match Golf (Ladies) |
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1986 |
VS.
Super Mario Bros. |
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1994 |
Killer
Instinct |
Rare |
1994 |
Cruis'n
USA |
Williams |
1996 |
Killer
Instinct 2 |
Rare |
1996 |
Cruis'n
World |
Williams |
1999 |
Cruis'n
Exotica |
Williams |
2005 |
Mario
Kart Arcade GP |
Namco |
2007 |
Mario
Kart Arcade GP 2 |
Namco |
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