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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
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! game cover
Rating 8.3

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

1987·Arcade, famicom, NES
Famicom Mukashibanashi: Shin Onigashima game cover

Famicom Mukashibanashi: Shin Onigashima

1987·fds
Slalom game cover
Rating 5.0

Slalom

1987·NES
Super Mario Bros. game cover

Super Mario Bros.

1987·G&W
Yume Koujou: Doki-doki Panic game cover
Rating 7.0

Yume Koujou: Doki-doki Panic

1987·fds
Bomb Sweeper game cover

Bomb Sweeper

1987·G&W
Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course game cover

Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course

1987·fds
The Goonies II game cover
Rating 6.7

The Goonies II

1987·Arcade, NES
Family Computer Golf: Japan Course game cover

Family Computer Golf: Japan Course

1987·fds
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link game cover
Rating 6.6

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

1987·WiiU, Wii, 3DS +2
Super Mario Bros. Special game cover

Super Mario Bros. Special

1986·x1, PC-8800 Series
Kid Icarus game cover
Rating 6.9

Kid Icarus

1986·WiiU, Wii, Arcade +2
Athletic World game cover

Athletic World

1986·famicom, NES
Pro Wrestling game cover
Rating 6.0

Pro Wrestling

1986·Arcade, NES, fds
Castlevania game cover
Rating 7.9

Castlevania

1986·WiiU, Wii, Arcade +4
I Am a Teacher: Super Mario Sweater game cover

I Am a Teacher: Super Mario Sweater

1986·fds
Metroid game cover

Metroid

1986·WiiU, Wii, 3DS +1
Volleyball game cover
Rating 5.0

Volleyball

1986·WiiU, Wii, Arcade +3
Climber game cover

Climber

1986·G&W
Gumshoe game cover
Rating 6.0

Gumshoe

1986·Arcade, NES
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels game cover
Rating 7.4

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

1986·WiiU, Wii, 3DS +1
Dragon Warrior game cover
Rating 7.5

Dragon Warrior

1986·famicom, NES, MSX2 +1
Squish game cover

Squish

1986·G&W
The Mysterious Murasame Castle game cover
Rating 8.0

The Mysterious Murasame Castle

1986·WiiU, Wii, 3DS +1
Vs. Super Mario Bros. game cover

Vs. Super Mario Bros.

1986·Arcade
The Legend of Zelda game cover
Rating 8.0

The Legend of Zelda

1986·WiiU, Wii, 3DS +3
Mach Rider game cover
Rating 6.1

Mach Rider

1985·WiiU, Wii, 3DS +2
Gyromite game cover
Rating 5.1

Gyromite

1985·famicom, NES
Stack-up game cover

Stack-up

1985·famicom, NES
Tropical Fish game cover

Tropical Fish

1985·G&W
Wrecking Crew game cover
Rating 5.8

Wrecking Crew

1985·WiiU, Wii, 3DS +4
Arm Wrestling game cover

Arm Wrestling

1985·Arcade
Soccer game cover
Rating 5.7

Soccer

1985·WiiU, Wii, famicom +2
Black Jack game cover

Black Jack

1985·G&W
Vs. Clu Clu Land game cover

Vs. Clu Clu Land

1984·Arcade
Vs. Excitebike game cover
Rating 7.2

Vs. Excitebike

1984·WiiU, Arcade, fds
Clu Clu Land game cover
Rating 6.3

Clu Clu Land

1984·WiiU, Wii, 3DS +3
Excitebike game cover
Rating 7.1

Excitebike

1984·WiiU, Wii, Arcade +2
Urban Champion game cover
Rating 6.0

Urban Champion

1984·WiiU, Wii, 3DS +2
Donkey Kong Hockey game cover

Donkey Kong Hockey

1984·G&W
4-nin Uchi Mahjong game cover

4-nin Uchi Mahjong

1984·famicom
F1 Race game cover
Rating 7.4

F1 Race

1984·famicom
Devil World game cover
Rating 7.0

Devil World

1984·WiiU, Wii, 3DS +2
Vs. Ice Climber game cover

Vs. Ice Climber

1984·Arcade, fds
Donkey Kong Circus game cover

Donkey Kong Circus

1984·G&W
Vs. Balloon Fight game cover

Vs. Balloon Fight

1984·Arcade
Super Punch-Out!! game cover
Rating 6.6

Super Punch-Out!!

1984·Arcade
Boxing game cover

Boxing

1984·G&W