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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.

1583
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)
11%

Platform Spread

Wii U
245
Nintendo 3DS
231
Wii
182
Nintendo DS
160
Nintendo Switch
149

Release Timeline

1970s
11
1980s
134
1990s
257
2000s
590
2010s
350
2020s
117

Rating Distribution

266
80-100
462
60-79
77
40-59
9
0-39
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
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire game cover
Rating 6.6

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

1996·PC, N64
Killer Instinct Gold game cover
Rating 6.8

Killer Instinct Gold

1996·N64
Donkey Kong Land 2 game cover
Rating 7.9

Donkey Kong Land 2

1996·3DS, Game Boy
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! game cover
Rating 7.5

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!

1996·WiiU, Wii, SNES +2
BS Marvelous: Camp Arnold game cover

BS Marvelous: Camp Arnold

1996·Satellaview
Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima game cover
Rating 7.1

Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima

1996·WiiU, SFAM
Picross 2 game cover
Rating 8.1

Picross 2

1996·3DS, Game Boy
Pokémon Blue Version game cover
Rating 8.6

Pokémon Blue Version

1996·3DS, Game Boy
BS Shin Onigashima game cover

BS Shin Onigashima

1996·Satellaview
Super Mario 64 game cover
Rating 8.9

Super Mario 64

1996·WiiU, Wii, N64
Pilotwings 64 game cover
Rating 7.0

Pilotwings 64

1996·N64
Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run game cover
Rating 5.0

Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run

1996·SNES
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War game cover
Rating 8.6

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War

1996·Switch, WiiU, Wii +2
BS Super Mario USA: Power Challenge game cover

BS Super Mario USA: Power Challenge

1996·Satellaview
Nintama Rantarou 2 game cover

Nintama Rantarou 2

1996·SFAM, Satellaview
3-D Tetris game cover

3-D Tetris

1996·virtualboy
The Arena game cover

The Arena

1996·SNES, SFAM
Milky Way Wishes game cover

Milky Way Wishes

1996·SNES, SFAM
Revenge of Meta Knight game cover

Revenge of Meta Knight

1996·SNES, SFAM
The Great Cave Offensive game cover

The Great Cave Offensive

1996·SNES, SFAM
Gourmet Race game cover

Gourmet Race

1996·SNES, SFAM
Dyna Blade game cover

Dyna Blade

1996·SNES, SFAM
Spring Breeze game cover

Spring Breeze

1996·SNES, SFAM
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars game cover
Rating 8.8

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

1996·WiiU, Wii, SNES +1
Pokémon Green Version game cover
Rating 8.3

Pokémon Green Version

1996·3DS, Game Boy