Nintendo

Nintendo Company, Limited (任天堂株式会社 Nintendō Kabushiki-gaisha?; TYO: 7974 , NASDAQ: NTDOY, FWB: NTO) is a Japanese multinational corporation originally founded on September 23, 1889 in Kyoto, Japan by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. In the mid-twentieth century, the company tried several small niche businesses, such as a love hotel and a taxi company. Over the years, it became a video game company, growing into one of the most powerful in the industry. Aside from video games, Nintendo is also the majority owner of the Seattle Mariners, a Major League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington.

Nintendo has the distinction of historically being both the oldest intact company in the video game console market and one of the largest and well-known console manufacturers, as well as being the dominant entity in the handheld console market. As of 30 June 2007, Nintendo has sold over 453 million hardware units, and nearly 2.2 billion software units worldwide.citation needed]