CODENAME:DOLPHIN

N64

Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the

creation of interactive entertainment. To date, Nintendo has sold more than one

billion video games worldwide, created such industry icons as Mario and Donkey

Kong and launched franchises like The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon.

Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home

video game systems, including theNintendo 64 and Game Boy - the world's

best-selling video game system.

As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond,

Washington, serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western

Hemisphere, where more than 40 percent of American households own a

Nintendo game system.

1889 - Fusajiro Yamauchi, great-grandfather of the present president, began

manufacturing "Hanafuda," Japanese playing cards in Kyoto.

1902 - Mr. Yamauchi started manufacturing the first playing cards in Japan.

Originally for export, the product became popular in Japan as well as abroad.

1933 - Established an unlimited partnership, Yamauchi Nintendo & Co.

1947 - Began a distribution company, Marufuku Co. Ltd.

1950 - Hiroshi Yamauchi took office as President and absorbed the

manufacturing operation of Yamauchi Nintendo & Co.

1951 - Changed the company name from Marufuku Co. Ltd. to Nintendo Playing

Card Co. Ltd.

1952 - Consolidated factories were dispersed in Kyoto.

1953 - Became the first to succeed in manufacturing mass-produced plastic

playing cards in Japan.

1959 - Started selling cards printed with Walt Disney characters, opening a new

market in children's playing cards. The card department boomed!

1962 - In January, listed stock on the second section of the Osaka Stock

Exchange and on the Kyoto Stock Exchange.

1963 - Changed company name to Nintendo Co. Ltd. and started manufacturing

games in addition to playing cards.

1969 - Expanded and reinforced the game department; built a production plant in

Uji City, a suburb of Kyoto.

1970 - Stock listing was changed to the first section of the Osaka Stock

Exchange. Reconstruction and enlargement of corporate headquarters was

completed. Started selling the Beam Gun series, employing opto-electronics.

Introduced electronic technology into the toy industry for the first time in Japan.

1973 - Developed laser clay shooting system to succeed bowling as a major

pastime.

1974 - Developed image projection system employing 16mm film projector for

amusement arcades. Began exporting them to America and Europe.

1975 - In cooperation with Mitsubishi Electric, developed video game system

using electronic video recording (EVR) player. Introduced the microprocessor

into the video game system the next year.

1977 - Developed home-use video games in cooperation with Mitsubishi Electric.

1978 - Created and started selling coin-operated video games using

microcomputers.

1979 - Started an operations division for coin-operated games.

1980 - Announced a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc. in New

York. Started selling "GAME & WATCH" product line.

1981 - Developed and began distribution of the coin-operated video game

"Donkey Kong." This video game quickly became the hottest selling individual

coin-operated machine in the business.

1982 - Merged New York subsidiary into Nintendo of America Inc., a wholly owned

subsidiary headquartered in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., with a capital of

$600,000.

1983 - Built a new plant in Uji city to increase production capacity and to allow for

business expansion. Established Nintendo Entertainment Centres Ltd. in

Vancouver, B.C., Canada, to operate a family entertainment center. Raised

authorized capital of Nintendo of America Inc. to $10 million. In July, listed stock

on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Started selling the home video

game console "Family Computer" employing a custom CPU (Custom Processing

Unit) and PPU (Picture Processing Unit).

1984 - Developed and started selling the unique 2-screen interactive

coin-operated video game "VS. System".

1985 - Started to sell the U.S. version of Family Computer "Nintendo

Entertainment System" (NES) in America. The system included R.O.B. - Robotic

Operating Buddy - and the games Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. Mario and

Luigi became as big a hit as the NES.

1986 - Developed and started selling the "Family Computer Disk Drive System" to

expand the functions of the Family Computer. Began installation of the "Disk

Writer" to rewrite game software. Game Counselors were organized and players

from all over the world could call Nintendo for advice on games and strategies.

1987 - Sponsored a Family Computer "Golf Tournament" as a communications

test using the public telephone network and Disk Faxes to aid in building a Family

Computer network. The NES achieved the status as the #1 selling toy in

American and The Legend of Zelda became the first new generation home video

game to exceed sales of one million units.

1988 - Nintendo of America Inc. published the first issue of Nintendo Power

magazine in July. Researched and developed the Hands Free controller, making

the NES accessible to many more Nintendo fans. The game library for the NES

grew to 65 titles, helping to broaden the demographics to include more adults.

1989 - Released "The Adventure of Link," sequel to the top-selling game "The

Legend of Zelda" in the U.S. Started "World of Nintendo" displays in U.S. to help

market Nintendo products. Studies show that children are as familiar with "Mario"

as they are with Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny! Introduced Game Boy, the first

portable, hand-held game system with interchangeable game paks. Nintendo

Power magazine became the largest paid-subscription publication in its age

category.

1990 - Nintendo Power Fest featuring the Nintendo World Championships tours

the country. Japan enters the 16-bit market by releasing the Super Famicom in

the fall.

1991 - Nintendo introduces World Class Service Center locations across the U.S.

The 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES), along with

"Super Mario World," is released in the U.S.

1992 - The Super NES Super Scope and Mario Paint with the Super NES Mouse

Accessory were released. The long-awaited "Zelda" sequel, "The Legend of

Zelda: A Link to the Past," arrived for the Super NES. Nintendo of America Inc.

developed portable Fun Centers to assist the Starlight Foundation in bringing

happiness to hospitalized children by allowing them to enjoy their favorite video

games during hospital stays.

1993 - Nintendo announces the advent of the Super FX Chip, breakthrough

technology for home video systems. The first game using the Super FX Chip,

"Star Fox," is released in April.

1994 - The Super Game Boy accessory was released, expanding the library of

games that could now be played on the Super NES! Everyone's favorite heroine,

Samus, returns in another long-awaited sequel, Super Metroid. Nintendo helped

pioneer the development and implementation of an industry-wide rating system.

This year also saw the introduction of a game that would set a new standard in

video game excellence. Using proprietary Advanced Computer Modeling (ACM)

graphics, Donkey Kong Country took the holiday season by storm! Nintendo

Gateway projected to reach 40 million travelers.

1995 - Thanks to the outstanding success of Donkey Kong Country, ACM

graphics were introduced to the Game Boy system by way of Donkey Kong Land.

Along with this great boost to the Game Boy system line, Nintendo also

introduced the Play It Loud! series of Game Boy systems. ACM graphics made

another appearance on the Super NES with the release of the arcade smash-hit,

Killer Instinct. At the same time, Nintendo introduced a 32-bit Virtual Immersion

system know as the Virtual Boy. Next, Nintendo responded to the demands of

fans with the release of Yoshi's Island: Super Mario World 2. Nintendo even

enhanced the quality of ACM graphics for the upcoming release of Donkey Kong

Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Cruis'n USA and Killer Instinct available in local

arcades. Celebration of the one-billionth game pak being sold.

compliments of Nintendo of America ,nitendo.com