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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
Star Fox game cover
Rating 7.6

Star Fox

1993·SNES, SFAM
Magnetic Soccer game cover

Magnetic Soccer

1992·Game Boy
Nintendo Campus Challenge 1992 game cover

Nintendo Campus Challenge 1992

1992·SNES
Yoshi's Cookie game cover
Rating 7.1

Yoshi's Cookie

1992·WiiU, Wii, famicom +1
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins game cover
Rating 8.1

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

1992·3DS, Game Boy
Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest game cover
Rating 7.3

Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest

1992·WiiU, Wii, SNES +1
Battle Clash game cover
Rating 6.0

Battle Clash

1992·SNES, SFAM
Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru game cover
Rating 8.0

Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru

1992·3DS, Game Boy
Super Mario Kart game cover
Rating 8.6

Super Mario Kart

1992·WiiU, Wii, SNES +2
Super Play Action Football game cover

Super Play Action Football

1992·SNES
Mario Paint game cover
Rating 7.3

Mario Paint

1992·SNES, SFAM
Wave Race game cover
Rating 6.7

Wave Race

1992·Game Boy
X game cover

X

1992·Game Boy
Kirby's Dream Land game cover
Rating 7.8

Kirby's Dream Land

1992·3DS, Game Boy
Fire Emblem Gaiden game cover
Rating 8.0

Fire Emblem Gaiden

1992·WiiU, Wii, famicom
Go! Benny! game cover

Go! Benny!

1992·famicom, NES
Mario Roulette game cover

Mario Roulette

1991·Arcade
Super R.C. Pro-Am game cover
Rating 8.2

Super R.C. Pro-Am

1991·Game Boy
Yoshi game cover
Rating 4.9

Yoshi

1991·WiiU, Wii, 3DS +2
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters game cover
Rating 7.9

Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters

1991·3DS, Game Boy
Mario the Juggler game cover

Mario the Juggler

1991·G&W
NES Open Tournament Golf game cover
Rating 6.1

NES Open Tournament Golf

1991·WiiU, Wii, Arcade +3
Metroid II: Return of Samus game cover
Rating 6.7

Metroid II: Return of Samus

1991·3DS, Game Boy
Time Twist: Rekishi no Katasumi de... game cover

Time Twist: Rekishi no Katasumi de...

1991·fds
Super R-Type game cover
Rating 6.8

Super R-Type

1991·Wii, SNES, SFAM
Shin 4-nin Uchi Mahjong: Yakuman Tengoku game cover

Shin 4-nin Uchi Mahjong: Yakuman Tengoku

1991·famicom
Game Boy Wars game cover

Game Boy Wars

1991·Game Boy
Digger T. Rock: The Legend of the Lost City game cover
Rating 7.6

Digger T. Rock: The Legend of the Lost City

1990·NES
Super Mario World game cover
Rating 92

Super Mario World

1990·WiiU, Wii, Arcade +3
Balloon Kid game cover
Rating 8.8

Balloon Kid

1990·3DS, Game Boy
Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship game cover
Rating 7.0

Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship

1990·Arcade, NES
Vs. Dr. Mario game cover

Vs. Dr. Mario

1990·Arcade
Backgammon game cover

Backgammon

1990·fds
Punch-Out!! game cover
Rating 8.0

Punch-Out!!

1990·WiiU, Wii, 3DS +2
Barker Bill's Trick Shooting game cover

Barker Bill's Trick Shooting

1990·NES
Dr. Mario game cover
Rating 7.2

Dr. Mario

1990·WiiU, Arcade, famicom +1
Snake Rattle 'n' Roll game cover
Rating 7.6

Snake Rattle 'n' Roll

1990·NES
Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos game cover
Rating 4.6

Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos

1990·NES
Knight Move game cover

Knight Move

1990·fds
Catrap game cover
Rating 6.5

Catrap

1990·3DS, Game Boy
Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi game cover
Rating 7.3

Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi

1990·WiiU, Wii, 3DS +1
Pin-Bot game cover

Pin-Bot

1990·Arcade, NES
To the Earth game cover

To the Earth

1990·NES
NES Play Action Football game cover

NES Play Action Football

1990·Wii, NES
Solar Striker game cover
Rating 5.0

Solar Striker

1990·Game Boy
Egg-splode! game cover

Egg-splode!

1989·NES
Short Order game cover

Short Order

1989·NES
Tetris game cover
Rating 65

Tetris

1989·NES