The Complete History of Nintendo

SlappingOysters writes "Gameplayer are running a comprehensive feature on the history of Nintendo that runs through all 119 years of their existence, from humble card maker to gaming powerhouse. It is documented in chronological order and includes a stack of trivia about the company that will be thoroughly enjoyed by all Nintendo fans. As an interesting side note, it links to a sister article that explores how Mario can improve your sex life."

Re:No Gamecube

[Rhapsody Scarlet]

Well who can blame them? I'd detail my experiences with the GameCube, but I might as well just write a review of Super Smash Bros. Melee instead, that was the only truly remarkable game I played on it. Super Mario Sunshine? Patently inferior to Super Mario 64. Soul Calibur II? Can't match the original. Mario Kart: Double Dash? Simply couldn't hold my interest.

I know I'm missing some good stuff (Metroid Prime, why did I never play that?), but my experiences were poor. SSBM is the only game to not be surpassed before or (maybe) since. I'm still forming my final opinion on SSBB...

Re:No Gamecube

[Sabz5150]

One word sums up my GameCube experience: Ikaruga. Incredible sounds, beautiful graphics, gameplay rivaled only (ironically enough) by Radiant Silvergun. There is no better game for the 'Cube IMHO.

Re:Not a history

[Jorophose]

For the sake of preservation, I'm sure there's got to be someone out there with a copy and close to an OCR device. Either that or it's sitting around in the belly of the internet, along with every other book (and a clockwork orange of course).

It's a shame to see books out of print. Wasn't there a startup that designed and started selling these printers intended to print out books at a time for libraries and such, as a sort of on-demand-printing for them to make some money? Sort of like Lulu.com but this one is decentralised and local.

Re:No Gamecube

[Jorophose]

The only problem with Nintendo's methodology is that they don't want shit games.

When Sony opened the floodgates you got all the shovelware games. Haven't you noticed that?

Re:Not a history

[Haoie]

Yes, that's a good book.

The Ultimate History of Video Games [Steve Hunt] is also a very worthy read. The focus isn't on Nintendo, but still worthwhile.

Re:No Gamecube

[Darkness404]

The PS2 had an early head start with the DVD format. At the time of its launch, it was an affordable DVD player that played games. Secondly, it was backwards compatibly with all the PS1 games giving it a larger library of games. Third, it had a lot of exclusive system selling titles such as Final Fantasy. The Xbox had Halo which was a system seller. But the Gamecube had a lot of exclusive titles but just never managed for them to sell systems, Melee was a great game, and Tales of Symphonia is one of the best RPGs I have ever played, but Sunshine was mediocre, Luigi's Mansion was an average launch game, Double Dash was decent, but not a system seller. And the console had so many Mario Party games that were essentially the same to be even considered. The thing that I really liked about the gamecube was the short load times compared to the PS2 and Xbox. Seriously, it seemed to take at least a minute to go back to the world map after a battle in Final Fantasy...

In Florida??

[EEBaum]

From TFA: 1989 - The Wizard movie is released in the US. Starring Fred Savage, Christian Slater and Beau Bridges, it chronicles the story of a young boy with a talent for videogames who enters a Nintendo tournament in Florida. Nintendo uses it as a vehicle to promote the NES and unveil Super Mario Bros 3 in the West.

The tournament was in California (Universal Studios, Hollywood, to be precise), thank you very much. Hence the protagonist incessantly whining "California!" through half the film.

Yes, I saw it in theatres. The announcer's cry of "Super... Mario... Brothers... THREE!!!!" remains one of the more memorable moments of my childhood.

Re:NES in 1987?????????

[PKFC]

Yeah I'm reading this and finding things just from my memory that are incorrect. (So yeah if I'm wrong, a little wikipedia would help that)

1985 - Nintendo releases the Famicom (Family Computer) in Japan priced at 54,800 yen. Designed by Masayuki Uemura, it is released with 20 software titles, including a home port of Donkey Kong. The machine was originally beige and maroon and its game cartridges had to be slotted in through the top.

It was released in Japan in 1983 with three games. Donkey Kong, Mario Bros. and maybe Donkey Kong, Jr. (That's something to check on wikipedia)

Trivia - The Legend Of Zelda was a launch title for the NES in North America. It came encased in special gold cartridges containing an internal battery to facilitate save games - the first game cartridge to offer this.

Pretty sure it was 87-88 - aka definitely not a launch title.

1987 - The Famicom is released in the US and Europe as the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). Selling for $300, it would sell 60 million units worldwide.

You already mentioned the 1985 release (no idea about Europe), but I'm more than sure that every Nintendo home console except the Wii has been launched at $199 USD.

1991 - After a collaboration with Sony to help develop a CD add-on for the SNES turns sour, Nintendo decides to partner with Sony's rivals, Philips Electronics NV. Nintendo grants the company permission to use Mario and Zelda in a series of games for the Philips CD-i console, and in exchange Philips agrees to work on a CD add-on for the SNES. But the add-on is later dropped.

I want to say that the CD add on development started later than that, but 1991 then switching to Phillips in 1992, back to Sony in 1993 and then Sony releasing the PSX in 1994 after being thrown out sort of makes a reasonable timeline..

Ok I think that's enough nitpicking. Most of the other stuff sounds right even if it isn't :P Or I don't remember enough to point it out. I shouldn't have all this shit in my brain, but it's there... Totally agree that it didn't need to be 8 pages, but adblock helps.

Re:Plumbers lead to greater sex?

[electrictroy]

These stories really shouldn't be written by people who are younger than an NES/Famicom (the original Nintendo system). They are filled with too many errors & urban legend. Such as: - Donkey Kong was the first with an attract screen.

False. Instead the articles should be written by the older generation who was actually THERE and remember the events as they unfolded.

I am also surprised there is no mention about the Gaming Giant called Atari. Yes I know it's not an Atari article, but to ignore Atari is as silly as to write an article about Sony's PS1 without discussing Nintendo. Originally Nintendo asked ATARI to sell its Famicom in the U.S. and European market. Just imagine a console called the Atari Nintendo or Atari ES. Atari and Nintendo had all but sealed the deal, when suddenly Atari CEO Jack Tramel threw one of his famous hissy fits because of a trivial "insult" by the Japanese representatives.

In effect the #1 videogame maker Atari lost a billion-dollar industry to Nintendo with one stupid temper tantrum.