Nintendo
Nintendo is a Japanese game company that was founded as the playing card manufacturer, Nintendo Koppai, by Fusajiro Yamauchi in Kyoto in 1889. In 1933, the company was renamed Yamauchi Nintendo & Company, and in 1949 the company was renamed Nintendo Playing Card Co. Ltd. In 1969, the name was changed to Nintendo Co. Ltd.
After testing the waters with distribution deals of early video game consoles such as the Magnavox Oddyssey, they fully entered the video game industry in 1977 with their Color TV Game console line. They have continued manufacturing video game consoles ever since, releasing the Game & Watch line in 1980, the Family Computer (known as the Nintendo Entertainment System outside of Japan) in 1983, the Game Boy in 1989, the Super Famicom (known as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System outside of Japan) in 1990, the Virtual Boy in 1995, the Nintendo 64 in 1996, the Gameboy Color in 1998, the Game Boy Advance and GameCube in 2001, the Nintendo DS in 2004, the Wii in 2006, the Nintendo 3DS in 2011, and the Wii U in 2012.
Nintendo also has several game studios and publishes video games.