New photos showcasing the origins of Nintendo appeared online recently, courtesy of the Kyoto City Planning Bureau. The photos show details of Nintendo’s original shop way back in 1889, as well as several other areas around that part of Kyoto.
For those who are unfamiliar, Nintendo wasn’t always about making weird cardboard peripherals and swanky consoles. Back in the old, old days, Nintendo made card games. Various modern Nintendo games have featured various aspects of games like Hanafuda, so you’ve likely seen it without knowing what you were looking at. But Nintendo has been about entertaining with games for a whole lot longer than most folks realize.
Some intrepid folks might point out that this doesn’t look like the building Nintendo originally called its headquarters, and you’d be right! When they became the real deal in card games, they moved to a small office back in the 1950’s. You can still find that building, marked with their company placard today, although it is closed off to the public.
