YTread Logo
YTread Logo

Nintendo almost shut down. Then a janitor saved them.

Jun 07, 2021
More than 130 years ago, Nintendo was a small, ramshackle-looking store in the heart of Kyoto. The store's founder, Fusajiro Yamauchi, dismissed the idea of ​​selling conventional Japanese products such as sake, silk and tea. Instead, he clung to the idea that selling a controversial product that had just been legalized would be more lucrative: playing cards. Later, his great-grandson would follow in his footsteps and break into the video game industry, in the midst of the North American crisis. Many told his team that they had missed the opportunity and didn't know what they were doing. In the 16th century, traders brought Western-style playing cards to Japan.
nintendo almost shut down then a janitor saved them
Cards quickly became a popular pastime among locals and were often used for gambling. They were later banned when Japan closed its borders to the world. Many of those who dedicated

them

selves to manufacturing

them

stopped doing so immediately. Meanwhile, others looked for ways to get around the ban. They ended up creating new playing cards with disguised designs. One of them was called hanafuda. While Western cards had four suits and 12 numbers, hanafuda consisted of four seasons and 12 months. Eventually the government caught on and banned them too. But it was too late. Hanafuda was so popular that many continued to play in secret.
nintendo almost shut down then a janitor saved them

More Interesting Facts About,

nintendo almost shut down then a janitor saved them...

It wasn't until the 19th century that things changed. After a more open-minded government came to power, the ban was eventually lifted. Subsequently, hanafuda was no longer considered as exciting as when it was illegal. Still, a 26-year-old artist named Fusajiro Yamauchi saw an opportunity. He believed they could become popular again as they were used for different games. He was so convinced that he went for the idea by selling his own hand-painted cards in Kyoto. He called his new company Nintendo Koppai, which means "leave luck to the sky." Many considered it risky since most companies sold conventional products such as sake, silk and tea.
nintendo almost shut down then a janitor saved them
But Fusajiro proved them wrong when his cards quickly became in demand, particularly by the yakuza, who used new decks for high-stakes games. In the end, Fusajiro had to train apprentices to meet demand. And after a decade, his bet paid off. Nintendo Koppai became the largest playing card manufacturer in Japan. When Fusajiro retired, he handed the business over to his daughter's husband, Sekiryo Kaneda. Sekiryo proved to be a worthy successor after creating a distribution system and sales force throughout Japan. But as the business grew, the Yamauchi family fell apart, proving that there are some things money can't buy.
nintendo almost shut down then a janitor saved them
In the 1920s, Tei and Sekiryo's eldest daughter, Kimi, married a man named Shikanojo Inaba. Shikanojo came from a respected family of craftsmen and was the next to take over Nintendo Koppai. But when his first child, Hiroshi, turned five, he abandoned the company and his family. Unable to cope as a single mother, Kimi gave Hiroshi to her parents. She rarely saw her mother and she never saw her father again. Tei and Sekiryo raised Hiroshi with the same iron fist that ruled the family business. They sent him to a prep school and expected him to study law or engineering.
But when World War II began, all plans were put on hold. Since Hiroshi was too young to fight, he worked in a military factory until the war ended. Subsequently, he fulfilled his grandparents' wishes and left Kyoto to study law at Waseda University. He also agreed to an arranged marriage with a woman named Michiko Inaba. A few years later, Hiroshi received an unexpected call and was asked to return home immediately. His grandfather, Sekiryo, suffered a sudden stroke. And one of his last wishes was to see Hiroshi. Lying on the pillows of his bed, he asked Hiroshi to drop out of college and take over the family business.
Hiroshi reluctantly agreed. "I would be lying if I said that I really wanted to take on the position. I was young and had mixed feelings. But in front of me I had a headless family business and all its employees waiting to find out what was going to happen." make it happen." At just 21 years old, Hiroshi became the new president of Nintendo Koppai overnight. None of the employees welcomed him and resented his youth and inexperience. It turned out that they were among the many who underestimated his ability to turn the family business into the richest company in Japan.
A few years into Hiroshi's reign, he set out to transform Nintendo Koppai. One of his first moves was to manufacture plastic-coated cards to compete with modern imports from the United States. Until

then

, all cards made in Japan were uncoated, making Nintendo Koppai the first to change the standard. Hiroshi's next big step was to secure a licensing deal with Walt Disney. The deal allowed them to include characters from Disney on its cards and marketed to youth and families.It also led to the creation of a new distribution system that would bring its cards to large department stores and toy stores.
While the launch was successful, Hiroshi struggled to expand and compete with modern American imports. He made him realize that there was little room to grow in the market and that it was time to venture into new businesses. So Hiroshi dropped "Koppai" from the company's name and took it public to finance his expansion. Later, he launched an instant rice product, founded a taxi company and opened a love hotel. While these companies generated some revenue, Nintendo lost a fortune and went into debt. Hiroshi ceased operations and began thinking about a new business venture, one that could take advantage of his access to department stores and toy stores.
Meanwhile, Nintendo Koppai's core business, hanafuda, continued as usual. By

then

, operations had moved from a single store to factories and offices around Kyoto. For many, it was still considered small and even unideal to work in compared to Tokyo companies. But for a graduated electrical engineer, it was his only chance for the future. So much so that they put aside their studies and accepted a job as a

janitor

. If they hadn't, Nintendo would never have released some of the best video game consoles in the world. After Nintendo fell into debt, Hiroshi hired top college graduates to help him innovate.
One exception was an electrical engineer named Gunpei Yokoi. Although he was a well-known repairman and once appeared in a magazine, he struggled to complete his career. And after finally graduating, he was rejected by every company he applied to. Working for Nintendo as a

janitor

and then maintenance worker was his last resort. In Gunpei's first few months at Nintendo, there was so little to do that he started tinkering with his computer. One day he cut crisscrossing pieces of wood and joined them together. Then, he attached a grappling tool to the end to grab objects from a distance.
While he was playing with his invention, Hiroshi walked by and called him to his office. Gunpei was sure he would be scolded. But to his surprise, Hiroshi asked him to turn his invention into Nintendo's first game. Gunpei simply added a bunch of grabbable colored balls and called it Ultra Hand. The game was a commercial success. Nintendo sold more than a million units. Over the next decade, Gunpei developed more games, including Love Tester and the Beam Gun Series. The Beam Guns were so successful that they led to the launch of the world's first laser clay range. While it became a popular pastime, the world's first oil shortage ended its chances of success.
Orders from abroad were canceled and invoices went unpaid, leaving Nintendo on the brink of collapse. This is the end of the first part of Nintendo history. In the next part, the company risks everything to succeed in a new industry: video games. When they launch in the US, the market crashes. Companies like Atari go bankrupt and dump truckloads of discarded games into landfills.

If you have any copyright issue, please Contact