Timeline Description: What started out as a card company changed the face of the gaming industry through the Nintendo Game Console. Now known internationally, this Japanese company is a giant in the gaming industry.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1889 | Nintendo is founded Japanese businessman Fusajiro Ymauchi founded a small trading card company. He named it Nintendo. |
| 1959 | Nintendo joins forces with Disney For seventy years the Nintendo card company dominated the trading card market. They joined forces with Disney to produce Disney trading cards. |
| 1962 | Nintendo stock goes public Their joint venture with Disney was a huge success, and it took the company to a new level. They were able to open their stock to the public. |
| 1965 | Trying new things With Nintendo's success, they began branching out into new markets including food and toys. Each of their ideas failed, except for their ideas in toys. |
| 1970 | The Ultra Hand The Ultra Hand was Nintendo's first big toy hit. Developed by one of Nintendo's assembly line workers, Gunpei Yokoi, the moving hand opened new doors for Nintendo. |
| 1975 | The video game market Electronic games had been gaining popularity for several years, and Nintendo dabbled in a few new products. They began distributing the Magnavox Odyssey, and saw success. |
| 1981 | Arcade games pick up speed Over the years, Nintendo began developing arcade games. Their games caught on, with the hugely popular Donkey Kong gaining instant fame. |
| 1982 | The Advanced Video System Nintendo continued working on a handheld home device for video games. Some of them never came to fruition, but others went out to the public with mild success. |
| 1985 | The Nintendo Entertainment System After a few years of perfecting their design and technology, Nintendo was at last ready to release their at-home gaming system. They released a limited number of games, including Super Mario Brothers in Japan. |
| 1989 | The Game Boy Nintendo designed and released the first portable gaming system. The Game Boy was low in price, and was instantly popular. |
| 1990 | Super Mario Bros. 3 Super Mario Bros. 3 was an instant hit, selling over 18 million copies. It has been called the best 8-bit game ever made. |
| 1991 | The Super Nintendo The Super Nintendo had a new sleek design with a better controller. The introduction of the Super Nintendo helped pave the way for CD-ROM games of the future. |
| 1994 | The Nintendo 64 Nintendo continued streamlining their design and updating their technology, and they soon released the Nintendo 64. A year later, Sony would release the PlayStation which would cut into Nintendo's profits. |
| 1996 | Pokemon cards Originally known as Pocket Monsters, Pokemon cards became wildly popular. Nintendo took back ground it had lost to Sony, but the success didn't last and Nintendo struggled for several years. |
| 2004 | Nintendo DS is introduced Nintendo released their new portable gaming system called the Nintendo DS. In 2006, they released the Wii which was aimed at people who wouldn't normally play video games; it became a huge success and put Nintendo back on the map. |