Happy Birthday Nintendo! Japanese Developer Turns 125 Today

Steven Bogos

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Jan 17, 2013
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Happy Birthday Nintendo! Japanese Developer Turns 125 Today


Nintendo will probably keep on doing its thing until the end of time.

Nintendo is possibly one of the oldest video game companies still up and running today, and today, it celebrates its 125th birthday! To put into perspective just how old that is, Nintendo was founded in the same year Inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin patented his "flying Balloon" device, and the same year Thomas Edison showed his first motion picture.

Nintendo was born on September 23, 1889, and as it is September 23 in Japan right now, it seems an appropriate time to celebrate. Today, most people know the company for its video game consoles and franchises, such as Mario, Zelda and Kirby, but Nintendo actually started as a trading card company.

It initially produced sets of "Hanafuda" cards - a kind Japanese card game which can still be purchased through love hotels [https://club.nintendo.com/rewards-details/a/10505.do], before settling on toys in the 60's.

However, when the 70's rolled around, and the technology industry started booming, Nintendo again switched tracks, and with the help of a young student product developer named Shigeru Miyamoto, went on to create some of the most recognizable video games of all time.

Despite falling on some hard times [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116974-Nintendo-Records-First-Ever-Full-Year-Loss-in-2011] in recent years, Nintendo is in no danger of fading away, as the company is estimated to be worth around US$85 billion.

So happy birthday, Nintendo, and thanks for all the games! Best of luck for the future.

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Guffe

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Jul 12, 2009
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Congratz Ninty!
Here's for another 125 years to come!
Keep 'em good quality games coming.
 

Nouw

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Nintendo, doomed since 1889. Keep it up Ninty, here's to another 1/8 of a millennium.
 

Story

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Sep 4, 2013
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Damn, that's a long time.
Happy Birthday to one of my favorite developers.
 

VinLAURiA

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Rainbow_Dashtruction said:
Wait wait wait...LOVE HOTELS?! Nintendo made love hotels...I'm pretty sure that fact alone is far more holy shit then anything else in this report.
Does nobody here do their research? Yeah, and they also had ties with the yakuza for a while. This stuff is pretty common knowledge.
 

chozo_hybrid

What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets.
Jul 15, 2009
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Aiddon said:
and this is why it will always be silly to bet against them no matter the odds.
Agreed, they have survived more than any other games company.
 

Hawki

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Rainbow_Dashtruction said:
Wait wait wait...LOVE HOTELS?! Nintendo made love hotels...I'm pretty sure that fact alone is far more holy shit then anything else in this report.
Mario and Peach gave good recommendations for them. I hear that Zelda and Link are thinking about following suit.
 

MetalMagpie

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VinLAURiA said:
Rainbow_Dashtruction said:
Wait wait wait...LOVE HOTELS?! Nintendo made love hotels...I'm pretty sure that fact alone is far more holy shit then anything else in this report.
Does nobody here do their research? Yeah, and they also had ties with the yakuza for a while. This stuff is pretty common knowledge.
I'm not entirely sure what you mean in this context by "do their research". I've personally never had a reason to read up on the history of Nintendo, hence why I didn't know this little titbit either.

Also...

 

MetalDooley

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Happy Birthday Nintendo.Here's to many more years of quality gaming

Steven Bogos said:
Nintendo is in no danger of fading away, as the company is estimated to be worth around US$85 billion.
And yet people still insist daily that the company is doomed/should go software only etc.
 

Rozalia1

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Nintendo is truly the Ric Flair of gaming. Around forever, won record levels of world titles, stable backing him up, great manager, can draw whatever type of heat he wants, and seemingly always has one more match in him even with his age.

Anyway, may you keep entertaining us all Nintendo for a long time to come.
 

GamemasterAnthony

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Dec 5, 2010
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Only one way to celebrate this. BRING IT IN, GUYS!!!

*various Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Kid Icarus, Starfox, Donkey Kong, Punch Out, and Kirby protagonists walk in carrying a huge cake*

Sorry...haven't reached the realities of Mother, Fire Emblem, and Xenoblade Chronicles yet.
 

Oly J

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Nov 9, 2009
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Happy Birthday Nintendo, you were my go-to for so much of my life, and with the Wii U, may be again, here's to many more years of quality games
 

Redlin5_v1legacy

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For all the problems I have with Nintendo and their policies (stop with the region locking... >.<), I'm glad they've stayed in business for as long as they have. May they continue to rock. Gaming would not be the same without them.
 

remnant_phoenix

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MetalMagpie said:
VinLAURiA said:
Rainbow_Dashtruction said:
Wait wait wait...LOVE HOTELS?! Nintendo made love hotels...I'm pretty sure that fact alone is far more holy shit then anything else in this report.
Does nobody here do their research? Yeah, and they also had ties with the yakuza for a while. This stuff is pretty common knowledge.
I'm not entirely sure what you mean in this context by "do their research". I've personally never had a reason to read up on the history of Nintendo, hence why I didn't know this little titbit either.

Also...

I love that cartoon!

Yeah, when someone doesn't know something that seems like common knowledge to me, especially if it's fun/interesting knowledge, my reaction is usually excitement, because then I get to be the one to tell them about it!
 

Imperioratorex Caprae

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May 15, 2010
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I honestly forgot that Nintendo has survived WWII, and is still kicking. 125 years, what a showing from the scrappy little Japanese company people keep writing off as doomed. Doomed must mean something else besides its main definition because everything Nintendo is doing is the opposite of a "doomed" company.
125 years, here's to another 125 more. You'll never kill Zelda or Mario.
 

Neurotic Void Melody

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Jul 15, 2013
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I was not aware of this.
I shall return after a hardcore google/wikipedia session!!....

...oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY NINTENDO! Your card...is in the post.
 

Dragonbums

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May 9, 2013
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Rainbow_Dashtruction said:
Wait wait wait...LOVE HOTELS?! Nintendo made love hotels...I'm pretty sure that fact alone is far more holy shit then anything else in this report.
Even that is still up in the air though. I think people trying to find records of Nintendo owning any current (or shut down) love hotel establishments came up with nothing.