How Nintendo Turned a Calculator into Their First Console

Nintendo was never meant to be a family friendly video game company.

Previously we covered how Nintendo sold illegal playing cards to the Yakuza, operated a taxi company and ran a love hotel.

The company has always taken risks and made bold decisions, but how far can they go this time?

This story begins with the 3rd President of Nintendo--Hiroshi; and how his employees stole inspiration from America, and pocketed millions of dollars.

This is part 2 of Nintendo's race to survival.

Watch part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMUCKtAaTaY

Sources:

[Nintendo’s History]
Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered The World, David Sheff, Vintage Press, Penguin Random House LLC.
Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation, Blake J. Harris, Harper Collins.
https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Corporate/Nintendo-History/Nintendo-History-625945.html
https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-nintendo-130-years-video-games-super-mario-zelda-2019-9
https://grantland.com/features/the-rise-of-nintendo-video-games-history/
https://youtu.be/whW1qJZwxs0
https://www.wired.com/2010/09/0923nintendo-founded/
https://www.switchaboo.com/nintendo-before-the-nes-2/
https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-nintendo-130-years-video-games-super-mario-zelda-2019-9
https://www.i-programmer.info/history/9-machines/269-nintendo-the-early-history.html
https://www.thegamer.com/nintendo-officially-named-richest-company-japan-2020/
https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/595799/history-of-a-powerhouse/
http://blog.beforemario.com/2016/01/nintendo-playing-card-catalogue-from.html
https://www.benzinga.com/general/education/20/09/14472367/this-day-in-market-history-nintend
o-is-founded
https://listverse.com/2018/05/23/10-weird-things-nintendo-sold-before-they-made-video-games/
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/20-years-nintendo-console-switch-sales/

[Nintendo’s Hanafuda Playing Cards]
https://healthy.uwaterloo.ca/museum/VirtualExhibits/Playing%20Cards/decks/japan/index.html
https://www.wired.com/2010/09/0923nintendo-founded/
https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/26011811/japan-grapples-esports-harmful-connection-gambling-laws
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2298.html
https://99percentinvisible.org/article/flower-cards-japanese-hanafuda-designed-to-circumvent-ban-on-western-decks/
https://www.maxlaumeister.com/articles/hanafuda-beginners-guide/
https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Hanafuda
https://www.japan-zone.com/features/059_surprising_history_of_hanafuda.shtml
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/jul/16/the-25-greatest-video-game-consoles-ranked

[The Yamauchi Family]
https://www.nsidr.com/archive/profile-hiroshi-yamauchi
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323308504579084841731442728
https://www.wired.com/2013/09/hiroshi-yamauchi-dies/
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/19/hiroshi-yamauchi

[Gunpei Yokoi]
https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkdbx7/how-gunpei-yokoi-reinvented-nintendo
https://www.giantbomb.com/ultra-hand/3055-4932/

Other Sources:

[Photos]
Sekiryo Kaneda: Makalah Terbaru
Fusajiro Yamauchi: nintendo.fandom.com
Hiroshi Yamauchi: @NintendoMemo / Twitter
Gunpei Yokoi: The Dot Eaters
Takebara Kahei, rawpixel.com: https://flic.kr/p/2k8rJmh
https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/27giy5/old_nintendo_hanafuda_cards/
Toshiyuki IMAI / flickr: https://flic.kr/p/8rmGWv, https://flic.kr/p/8rmHar, https://flic.kr/p/8rmH3a
Sébastien Bertrand / flickr: https://flic.kr/p/7EAgMz
Japanexperterna.se / flickr: https://flic.kr/p/qpcv1m, https://flic.kr/p/qFG7x5
Forgemind ArchiMedia / flickr: https://flic.kr/p/hkiKu5, https://flic.kr/p/hkjHVP, https://flic.kr/p/hkiJkb
https://www.wopc.co.uk/portugal/dragons2
Louie Mantia via Wiki: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hanafuda_August_Hikari.svg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hanafuda_August_Kasu_1.svg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hanafuda_August_Kasu_2.svg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hanafuda_August_Tane.svg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hanafuda_June_Tane.svg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hanafuda_November_Kasu.svg
https://twitter.com/Brian_Ashcraft/status/631681636120162304
Guilhem Vellut / flickr: https://flic.kr/p/pdqsy2
http://blog.beforemario.com/2016/01/nintendo-playing-card-catalogue-from.html
http://blog.beforemario.com/2016/04/nintendo-ultra-hand-box-from-1973.html
http://blog.beforemario.com/2016/04/nintendo-ultra-hand-box-from-1973.html
http://blog.beforemario.com/2011/02/nintendo-love-tester-1969.html
http://blog.beforemario.com/2011/02/light-gun-games-kousenjuu-sp-and.html
https://kotaku.com/the-gun-game-that-nearly-broke-nintendo-5794640

[Videos]
https://pastebin.com/me4CZrVN

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