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Nintendo

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Nintendo is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it first produced handmade hanafuda cards and also tried several small niche businesses such as a cab company and a love hotel. Nintendo developed into a video game company, becoming one of the most influential in the industry and Japan's third most valuable listed company. The name Nintendo translated from Japanese to English means "Leave luck to Heaven".

Nintendo at a Glance

Nintendo operates out of Kyoto, Japan and has been active since 1973. You might know them as a major publisher with nearly 1560 titles on PlayPile, though they develop about 241 of these directly. Their catalog spans five decades, starting with just 11 games in the 1970s after their early days making cards and other small businesses. Output grew significantly in the 1980s to 134 titles and peaked in the 2000s with 589 releases. The 2010s saw a dip to 348 games, while the 2020s have so far produced 116. They remain active through 2026 with upcoming releases like Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave and Zero Racers scheduled for late December 2026. Their platform reach is heavily focused on their own hardware. The Wii U leads their catalog with 245 games, followed closely by the Nintendo 3DS with 230 titles. They also have significant libraries on the Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo Switch. Adventure games are their most common genre with 377 entries, while Puzzle and Platform games follow with 302 and 273 respectively. Sports and racing titles make up a smaller portion of their work compared to these core genres. Quality varies across their long history but leans toward the positive side overall. Across 811 rated titles, the average score sits at 73.7 out of 100. There are 264 great games scoring 80 or higher, including classics like Super Metroid and Super Mario World. You will also find 462 good titles in the 60 to 79 range. A smaller number of entries fall into mixed or poor categories, with 76 scoring between 40 and 59 and only 9 rated below 40. Their highest scores include The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom at a perfect 100 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at 99.7. Recent games like Rhythm Heaven Groove continue to appear on their schedule, but the bulk of their legacy remains in the decades prior.

1612
Total Games
73.7
Avg Rating
1973
First Release
2026
Latest Release

Genre Breakdown

Adventure
19%
Puzzle
15%
Platform
14%
Arcade
12%
Role-playing (RPG)
10%

Platform Spread

Wii U
248
Nintendo 3DS
236
Wii
184
Nintendo DS
160
Nintendo Switch
158

Release Timeline

1970s
11
1980s
135
1990s
259
2000s
596
2010s
358
2020s
128

Rating Distribution

271
80-100
468
60-79
77
40-59
9
0-39
Kirby's Star Stacker game cover

Kirby's Star Stacker

1998·WiiU, Wii, New 3DS +1
James Bond 007 game cover
Rating 7.0

James Bond 007

1998·Game Boy
Resident Evil 2 game cover
Rating 6.9

Resident Evil 2

1998·PS3, PC, PS1 +3
Wrecking Crew '98 game cover

Wrecking Crew '98

1998·WiiU, SFAM
Yoshi's Story game cover
Rating 7.3

Yoshi's Story

1997·WiiU, Wii, N64
Yocchan to Chie Asobi game cover

Yocchan to Chie Asobi

1997·Satellaview
Pocket Bomberman game cover
Rating 7.0

Pocket Bomberman

1997·Game Boy, GBC
Heisei Shin Onigashima: Kouhen game cover

Heisei Shin Onigashima: Kouhen

1997·WiiU, Wii, SFAM
R no Shosai: Dai-Ni Maku game cover

R no Shosai: Dai-Ni Maku

1997·Satellaview
Kirby's Dream Land 3 game cover
Rating 8.2

Kirby's Dream Land 3

1997·WiiU, Wii, SNES +1
Diddy Kong Racing game cover
Rating 6.5

Diddy Kong Racing

1997·N64
Sutte Hakkun: Event Version game cover

Sutte Hakkun: Event Version

1997·Satellaview
Oryouri Pon! game cover

Oryouri Pon!

1997·Satellaview
Donkey Kong Land III game cover
Rating 7.7

Donkey Kong Land III

1997·3DS, Game Boy
Wario no Mori: Futatabi game cover

Wario no Mori: Futatabi

1997·Satellaview
BS Fire Emblem: Archanea Senki-hen game cover

BS Fire Emblem: Archanea Senki-hen

1997·Satellaview
Ball game cover

Ball

1997·Game Boy, GBC
Donkey Kong game cover

Donkey Kong

1997·Game Boy, GBC
Vermin game cover

Vermin

1997·Game Boy, GBC
Chef game cover

Chef

1997·Game Boy, GBC
Helmet game cover

Helmet

1997·Game Boy, GBC
Parachute game cover

Parachute

1997·Game Boy, GBC
Bomberman 64 game cover
Rating 7.0

Bomberman 64

1997·WiiU, N64
Kodomo Chousadan Mighty Pockets game cover

Kodomo Chousadan Mighty Pockets

1997·Satellaview
GoldenEye 007 game cover
Rating 81

GoldenEye 007

1997·N64
Tetrisphere game cover
Rating 8.4

Tetrisphere

1997·N64
Super Mario 64: Shindou Pak Taiou Version game cover
Rating 8.6

Super Mario 64: Shindou Pak Taiou Version

1997·WiiU, Wii, N64
Ken-chan to Chie Asobi game cover

Ken-chan to Chie Asobi

1997·Satellaview
Wave Race 64: Shindou Pak Taiou Version game cover

Wave Race 64: Shindou Pak Taiou Version

1997·N64
Mischief Makers game cover
Rating 7.0

Mischief Makers

1997·N64
R no Shosai game cover

R no Shosai

1997·Satellaview
BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2: Practice game cover

BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2: Practice

1997·Satellaview
Golf Daisuki! O.B. Club game cover

Golf Daisuki! O.B. Club

1997·Satellaview
Star Fox 64 game cover
Rating 81

Star Fox 64

1997·WiiU, Wii, N64
BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban game cover

BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban

1997·Satellaview
Blast Corps game cover
Rating 8.1

Blast Corps

1997·N64
Itoi Shigesato no Bass Tsuri No. 1 game cover

Itoi Shigesato no Bass Tsuri No. 1

1997·SFAM, Satellaview
BS Tantei Club: Yuki ni Kieta Kako game cover

BS Tantei Club: Yuki ni Kieta Kako

1997·Satellaview
Oil Panic game cover

Oil Panic

1997·Game Boy
Octopus game cover

Octopus

1997·Game Boy
Fire game cover

Fire

1997·Game Boy
Manhole game cover

Manhole

1997·Game Boy
Kirby's Star Stacker game cover
Rating 7.5

Kirby's Star Stacker

1997·3DS, Game Boy
Arkanoid: Doh It Again game cover
Rating 7.9

Arkanoid: Doh It Again

1997·PC, SNES, SFAM +1
Special Tee Shot game cover

Special Tee Shot

1996·SNES, SFAM, Satellaview
Lucky Luke game cover

Lucky Luke

1996·Game Boy
Konae-chan no Doki-doki Penguin Kazoku game cover

Konae-chan no Doki-doki Penguin Kazoku

1996·Satellaview
Mario Kart 64 game cover
Rating 8.2

Mario Kart 64

1996·WiiU, Wii, N64