Most people are familiar with the little trivia factoid about Nintendo’s origins as a playing card manufacturer, but a new video from Eurogamer shows that there’s more to the story of the company’s early success.
According to the most recent video in the website’s weekly Here’s a Thing series, Nintendo might never have been in a position to break into video game development if the Yakuza hadn’t taken an interest in their playing cards.
And while this tale isn’t directly related to the company’s game development efforts, the story told in the above video still offers an interesting look at the unconventional origins of one of the most iconic game companies out there.
Early Nintendo dealt in the world of hand-crafted Hanafuda cards, which were an alternative style of image-based playing card born out of Japan’s complicated history with Western culture and gambling. Sales of the cards were initially low, but Eurogamer says that Nintendo’s fortunes changed when the Yakuza decided to start using Hanafuda cards for underground gambling rings.
Thanks to this, demand for the cards skyrocketed and put Nintendo in a position to further develop other aspects of its playing card business, and eventually dive into video game production.
This is obviously the short and sweet version of the tale, so be sure to watch the Eurogamer video embedded above for a more history-rich look at Nintendo’s colorful beginnings and to catch a look at the art-filled decks of Hanafuda cards Nintendo still produces today. And, if unconventional stories about video games are right down your alley, the rest of the Here’s a Thing series is worth checking out as well.