Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo in Kyoto in 1889 as a playing-card business.
The company began by producing hanafuda, traditional Japanese playing cards made with hand-painted designs. Yamauchi operated the business from a small shop in Kyoto, and Nintendo initially had no connection with electronic games or home consoles.
Nintendo expanded into other businesses during the twentieth century, including toys, taxis, and instant rice, before concentrating increasingly on entertainment. Its move into arcade games and electronic products eventually led to globally successful systems such as the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy.
A common mix-up is assuming Nintendo was founded as a video-game company. Its playing-card origins predate the commercial video-game era by many decades. Another nearby fact is that Hiroshi Yamauchi, Fusajiro’s grandson, led the company during its transformation into a major video-game publisher.