The Forgotten Consoles That Launched Nintendo

With over 80 million sold, the Nintendo Switch is one of the most loved and best-selling consoles. But did you know it all started with a series of unknown consoles that you didn’t even know existed? It’s not the NES or the Game Boy. It goes way back - even before Super Marios Bros.
Welcome to part 3: the evolution of Nintendo.
Watch part 1: • Nintendo almost shut d...
Watch part 2: • How Nintendo Turned a ...
Sources:
[Nintendo’s History]
Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered The World, David Sheff, Vintage Press, Penguin Random House LLC.
Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation, Blake J. Harris, Harper Collins.
kotaku.com/the-designer-of-th...
www.japantimes.co.jp/news/201...
grantland.com/features/the-ri...
www.warpedfactor.com/2020/08/t...
www.theverge.com/2015/9/14/93...
gamerant.com/mike-tyson-punch...
www.washingtonpost.com/archiv...
www.centerforemdd.com/index.ph...
www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/bu...
www.washingtonpost.com/news/t...
www.theguardian.com/games/202...
www.visualcapitalist.com/20-y...
www.independent.co.uk/news/ob...
www.thegamer.com/nintendo-hom...
• The Rise Of Nintendo
www.spglobal.com/marketintell...
www.cnn.com/2020/08/06/tech/n...
japantoday.com/category/busin...
www.washingtonpost.com/video-...
[Tetris]
tetris.com/history-of-tetris
• Video
www.nytimes.com/2000/04/27/te...
www.todayifoundout.com/index.p...
tetris.fandom.com/wiki/History
www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/...
mixergy.com/interviews/tetris...
www.cnn.com/style/article/tet...
[Game Boy]
• History of the Game Bo...
venturebeat.com/2014/04/21/25...
Other Sources:
[Photos]
Bootleg Game & Watch Xabi Vazquez / flickr:
flic.kr/p/4v5xGz
flic.kr/p/4v5xDn
flic.kr/p/4v5vj6
flic.kr/p/4v5vdk
flic.kr/p/4v9zTf
flic.kr/p/4v5vg2
flic.kr/p/4v5v76
flic.kr/p/4v5vsc
Hiroshi Yamauchi (Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry): www.jef.or.jp/journal/pdf/up_...
Advanced Video System (Chris Donlan & Russell Bernice / flickr): commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
AVS Advertisement (@frankcifaldi / Twitter): / 810241714480824320
Sam Borofsky (Blake Harris / IGN): www.ign.com/articles/2014/11/...
Nintendo of America HQ (Jeff Dlouhy / flickr): flic.kr/p/5umn3w
Chris Harrison / flickr:
flic.kr/p/8wEDiH
flic.kr/p/8wECMp
flic.kr/p/8wHzMu
flic.kr/p/8wHBM3
Nintendo Building (Jeramey Jannene / flickr): flic.kr/p/4nAwV
Henk Rogers (@henkrogers / IG) / bgfulfxduu-
Henk Rogers with Horishi Yamauchi (www.nintendolife.com): www.nintendolife.com/news/201...
Alexey Pajitnov (eunice_szpillman / flickr): flic.kr/p/4VBPv4
Dorodnicyn Computing Center (Dmitru / Wiki): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CC...
Tetris Game Boy (Daniel Garrido / flickr): flic.kr/p/cTKoKf
• The Story of Computer ...
More videos:
pastebin.com/Rz3vqk3h

[@knightish]

“Forgo profits on the hardware. It’s just a tool to sell software.” I remember when I watched Steve Jobs say that at one of his Apple events. Here it is Nintendo saying it first. History is fascinating.

[@tookitogo]

Yyyyyeah.... I don’t think Jobs ever said that. What he did say (or repeat) is something to the effect of “real software people make their own hardware”.

[@cnj96]

and then they sell their hardware with the price of a yacht with no actual innovative software.

[@dariusq8894]

The funny part is that Nintendo doesn't actually lose money on their system sales, they essentially break even. A lot of it's competitors DO sell hardware at a loss with the same expectation to recoup the investment through software sales.

[@tookitogo]

@@cnj96 Apple’s innovation in software design is actually hard to overstate: their work in the early days of the GUI set the standard for how all mouse-based GUIs today work. (The Xerox Alto Jobs famously played with uses a mouse and has icons and windows, but its operation is so fundamentally different from Mac and Windows that none of us could just sit down and use it.) Apple’s design decisions for the Lisa and Mac went on to be copied by essentially _all_ GUIs from that point on. I’m not talking about where things are on the screen, but rather the fundamental mechanics of what we consider a mouse-driven UI to be, like selecting an object (or text selection, etc) and then applying a command to it. Or holding a mouse button to drag something. Apple’s paradigm went on to completely dominate. The only place where remnants of other GUI mechanics persist is in CAD software, where many conventions were established in the 1970s. That’s why so many CAD programs feel very... alien. (For example, how many of them _require_ you to select a command _before_ selecting the object.) What’s absolutely certain is that others took the foundations Apple built and ran with them, just as Apple took inspiration from prior work. That’s just how progress works. But it’s unfair to completely dismiss the impact Apple’s software innovations have had on the industry. Things would be very different had Apple not been around. (I’m not saying better, nor worse: just different.)

[@theakiwar9118]

@@dariusq8894 Thats true I remember when Kimishima said that the Switch will not sell at a loss unlike the WiiU where they tried that. It’s amazing to see how close they came to bankruptcy in the 20th century and how the right person at the right time principle saved them

[@Master0fHyrule]

I'm surprised there was no mention on how R.O.B was bundled with the NES to sell it to America... I've always heard that story...

[@thatdudewhohateslifeyt8701]

True

[@kristin332]

ye

[@alcor7104]

It's in the intro of the first part of this series. Look for "Nintendo almost shut down. Then a janitor saved them."

[@aetimes2]

@@alcor7104 no.. it does have a clip where it says what was bundled, but it doesn't talk about it. and doesn't say that rob was bundled to sell more units

[@alcor7104]

@@aetimes2 Details like that back then were usually found in print media, not TV commercials. You'd have to look for old newspapers, magazines, and similar stuff if you want to find those. I vaguely remember seeing a print ad about that in an old X-Men comic book back in grade school / high school.

[@lizard.y]

Honestly they should do a part 4 about Iwata

[@Dark_Side_Productions]

They HAVE to do that!

[@shiralea]

69 likes pog

[@hpsmash77]

they can make a movie about him and it still won't be enough, such a great man he was.

[@misaelmiranda5828]

Who would figure that your employees loyalty. And focusing on the joy of your consumers is the key to success.

[@dariusq8894]

This is the general mantra of most Japanese companies but not all of them live up to those ideals. Nintendo has proven that they do.

[@edbeded]

@@dariusq8894 until recently where they’ve been very anti-consumer

[@vagabond989]

Easy to say. Difficult in execution.

[@_Circus_Clapped_]

@@edbeded Apple is doing that too, but they are still successful and name brands today

[@bigpal8games]

This is by far the most engaged i am on a whole 3 part series. Keep at it man.

[@PalmTreeTV]

i just watched part 1 and 2 and then subscribed... trippy...

[@LackOfO2]

Same

[@jimmyrivera1830]

I literally just finished the first two parts

[@My14thAccount]

Same

[@TheDracolordian]

Same

[@pilkdog1]

Same

[@Desmk2312]

Everyone at CES: Nintendo din't know what they doing Kids: this is s*it Nintendo: And i took that personality

[@Blu-Arch-Plyer]

why do even let kids swear

[@IMLMadras1st]

Nintendo took the personality of it being s*it?

[@HarryKaneIsGoated]

Personally

[@gonkdroidincarnate4237]

@@IMLMadras1st im crying this thread is great

[@a.k.8195]

*didn't

[@Coolcatdaddio]

12:43 This part hits home, Animal Crossing New Horizons was my first "luxury" purchase after I got laid off from my job due to the pandemic. It's a bitter sweet memory.

[@Misterobozo1]

I just bought it because i'd heard about it being something special. But the idea of the game never lured me before (being a Playstation fanboy owning all PS generations, no wonder), a 'game about nothing' in my opinion, how could that be any good? - And as the Nintendo Switch introduced me to some great games, Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong among others I just had to try Animal Crossing. Wow! This is the 'game about nothing' I've played by far the most of any other game ever. FFVII 20 years ago kept me occupied a whole summer I remember, Animal Crossing kept me occupied from March of last year and is still keeping occupied. ---- I didn't lose my job or anything, but Animal Crossing sure made the whole pandemic thing a good time..

[@_Circus_Clapped_]

I'm just a normal guy, I see remasters/remakes of the originals, I buy

[@amerzing]

@@Misterobozo1 animal Crossing new leaf was my first with the 3DS. I thought there's nothing special about it but when I saw an old man playing it, I wondered why would an Old man play a "kid's game". I bought it, tried playing it and I discovered a whole new world for me 😅🤣

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

The best story on how Nintendo got the rights for Tetris was made by The Gaming Historian

[@ikmalizzatjohari6475]

Sad thing is on the other side of the coin. Atari is going bankrupt

[@NorthEast]

You are so right! His coverage is unmatched.

[@CampanadeGauss]

Gaming historian..... Great Chanel! :')

[@tchitchouan]

@@ikmalizzatjohari6475 Atari deserves to go bankrupt

[@woscot1007]

@@tchitchouan why

[@SpaceWithSam]

I don't know why, I just enjoy Hook's content so much, the information are always incredible, the editing is quality and enjoyable, excellent work!

[@Blu-Arch-Plyer]

because he is really good at explaining things

[@hareemabdulrauf1746]

Same here I love him

[@o1phoenix79]

You have a big error @2:16 the Family Computer aka Famicom was released in Japan on 15 June 1983, not 1 June 1977. 1 June 1977 was when Nintendo released the “Color TV Game 6”.

[@garlckbread]

Nice catch!

[@blakecutter1475]

i was looking if anyone realized this

[@mzxeternal]

There's a lot of mistakes and omissions in this video

[@TheRealCaptainFreedom]

Kids who make these videos conduct zero research and do not understand what they are talking about.

[@williamhicks7807]

The Famicom came out in 1983. And no, its not forgotten: its literally the Japanese variant of the Nintendo Entertainment System.

[@biscoito1r]

I think he was referring to that one that looked like a PC.

[@Gameboy-Unboxings]

2:20 it's literally a picture of the famicom and it says "June 1, 1977"....

[@wii58739]

My life really became more joyful when playing nintendo games from my childhood, so many adventures ive been on!

[@saucekatoosh8664]

Everyone In the beginning of this: PAUL RUDD????

[@cassidybb10]

Old news lol

[@skiprockjr.6881]

@@cassidybb10 Paul Rudd is actually Paul Pfeiffer from The Wonder Years.

[@-Extra_Lives]

I always love listening to these kinds of stories. The fact that it actually happened and Nintendo went through so much is inspiring

[@cartoonbackups]

11:49 Even computer companies are scared of Nintendo

[@stuffsonanimation4262]

Owo

[@cumjesus]

⊙.☉

[@Blu-Arch-Plyer]

even apple i bet microsoft isscared of intendo but respect the worker that change our life apple microsoft nintendo (nintendo dont change my life because i dont even play nintendo but im a big fan of pokemon) and more

[@shanasakai2238]

I came here from your Oreo video now I'm watching Nintendo. I didn't know they had faced a lot of hardships in life. Nintendo is part of my childhood even though I don't have one anymore I still love it. I might buy again some other time.

[@looqiandreassen4540]

Omg Paul Rudd, he haven’t aged😂😂

[@hanniacorena7657]

Hasn’t * and YES🤣

[@Daemien21]

I thought he kinda looked like him haha

[@looqiandreassen4540]

It is him

[@christian_swjy]

I am amazed at how Nintendo always managed to overcome every crisis and successfully winning the gamble everytime.

[@jameskarg3240]

theres no overstating it: Nintendo saved the gaming industry as we know it today. Without them, its highly doubtful there would be ANY joy in households worth coming home to.

[@TheSkizz89]

Just stomp on kids why don't you.

[@noahheninger]

That's a bit bleak.

[@flashrocket9158]

just to correct you, The Famicom launched in Japan in 1983, not 1977.

[@PercyPanleo]

It seems they used the Color TV 6's shot as a template for the Famicom's and forgot to change the date.

[@lenharper8502]

Great story on leadership and belief in your product. I grew up during this time and I remember the NES had the same quality as the arcade games. Man, was it fantastic and it is the reason I turned away from Atari.

[@NeonSJuggalo]

This was a awesome 3 parter, chock-full of knowledge. I enjoyed it very much. Never saw any of your content untill these 3 videos but I am now a subscriber, can't wait to see what other stuff you make in the future.

[@noelio67]

Been a Nintendo fan ever since I laid my eyes on the NES in 1990 after school one day.....there it was.....Super Mario Bros......nothing else mattered ......still playing Nintendo at 43 ☘❤🇮🇪

[@tuesdaytv]

The silhouette of Atari's ET game with the voice-over of "a flood of terrible games" was a nice touch!

[@GrandMasterLynx]

Imagine doing a speed run on SMB1 at E3 I wonder how they would’ve reacted

[@IsmailAbdulMusic]

I still own and play Nintendo NES and Sega Genesis. Good video. I love traveling back to a cool time

[@drewsears2959]

Just finished this 3 part series. Great research and presentation man! Very entertaining!

[@HDrobveelben]

I still recall the moment when nitendo lost a huge amount of money due to the launch of the WII-U and a lot of people thought nitendo were going to lay of a lot people but they never did. Job security also cause a more loyal workforce which will cause them to work harder to make better products.

[@MarineRX179]

Companies like EA or Activision fired hundreds of employees claiming "it's be a difficult year" and "games development is becoming too expensive prices for games need to be raised", while the CEOs and CFOs etc awarding themselves annual bonus of anything between 10 to 45 millions dollar EACH.

[@TheRealLink]

Just watched all four parts back to back and subbed! Wow, what a great documentary.

[@parinuser]

now with the 3rd episode watched, i can finally take a break.

[@tphillips1990]

Really great series of videos. I only had vague familiarity with their struggles following the crash of the game industry, so it was very interesting to learn how they managed to overcome. It seems persistence was vital to their survival.

[@yy19aos]

I have the NES. It was my dads when he was a kid. And all my friends love it

[@khoboo]

it still work ?

[@yy19aos]

@@khoboo we had to fix it but it runs really well

[@yy19aos]

But it makes buzzing noises and the games glitch out alot

[@khoboo]

Dem

[@sno_au]

Crazy how you didnt even mention the SNES

[@quanchaipurananda8951]

Watched all 3 of this series in one take. So worthwhile and inspiring. Kudos NINTENDO!

[@ConmanRajat]

Wow this documentry of 3 part is just amazing

[@FurobaOA]

The Sharp Nintendo connection is an interesting one. Game and Watch started with Sharp's calculators. Sharp made televisions with the NES built in, and later the SNES. Sharp helped create the cartridge authentication system, They created a fun center for hospitalized kids with aquos tvs and gamecubes. Now Sharp is assembling switch consoles for nintendo in Malaysia. Not surprising as they are both Kansai firms, Nintendo in Kyoto, Sharp in Sakai, Osaka.

[@pinkywinky911]

Interesting info 😲

[@labbit3574]

Me: sees the Tetris game carriage Also me: wait MY GRANDMA HAS THAT

[@jonx]

Guess your grandma is a gamer

[@mischa7823]

I have that too, it still looks mint

[@pinkywinky911]

I’m just 34 but reading this made me feel like a fossil 💀

[@L_T34]

I was JUST checking out your channel earlier to see how you were doing

[@edge6441]

The trilogy of videos you made for Nintendo is simply AMAZING thank you for presenting so nicely their trip to success through time!

[@OnlyTwoShoes]

11:52 Interesting how the years go to 2023

[@segenshin1894]

0:59 "We must develop something that other companies cannot copy for at least one year." That quote is just funny for me seeing how ripoffs are basically garunteed for anything successful that Nintendo makes these days, and the thought that Nintendo was having trouble dealing with the countless ripoffs for several decades.

[@TNO821]

Plus Nintendo's early arcade games were mostly ripoffs of other arcade games like Space Invaders.

[@youtoobe169]

So, not the first time there was a chip shortage! By the way, very interesting and well done video series.

[@JacobAnimatesOrIdk]

I watched all 3 of the parts of the nitendo evolution series and it was fun to watch.

[@decusq]

Super Nintendo is still the console that made me fall in love with games.

[@ChrisX_212]

Nintendo made some of the greatest consoles in the world, including Game Boy, Nintendo 64--- SNES/Super Nintendo: AM I A JOKE TO YOU!?

[@RetroJack]

Excellent series - thank you!

[@dimethedude]

Knew there was a reason I was still a fan since first playing the nes when I was 4

[@laranaarana]

Now I feel like a relic. I remember all of these game units!

[@jonniehickson5599]

I just received my NES and SNES back from being cleaned. I'm retired and have lots of time to play!

[@SakorskySP]

The motorcycle game and Mario bros was my favourite I feel so nostalgic seeing them both!

[@Blu-Arch-Plyer]

speed biker or something is its name i forgot

[@MarkSmithhhh]

@@Blu-Arch-Plyer excitbike?

[@pinkywinky911]

Nintendo had such a fascinating beginning and I only hope for them to last for many more years. The Original Famicom was the first gaming console that I played with back in the early 90s when I was just 6 or 7. My younger cousin owned one and dozens of games. I still remember spending hours trying to finish Super Mario Bros and playing those silly games like Ice Climbers and Circus Charlie. I’ve been a Nintendo girl since then. 😄

[@breeze787]

Fascinating! I watched my life go by.

[@CRYPTiCEXiLE]

I have a vision of me when I was 5 years old and first time playing Final Fantasy in 1987 lol that game change my life man.

[@littleskeleton420]

Dang that series was AWESOME

[@william254]

Some gave me a some version of the famicom console when I was a kid. It was broken but I ended up fixing it somehow. Can remember playing on it for hours and hours when I should have been doing homework or playing outside like other kids.

[@randommindz6782]

2:12 - And that's smart business tactics.

[@inozuke3756]

Respect for the early guys here🐐🙏🤯

[@spiderthecat]

Lol it says 15 views

[@ImAFatCheezIt]

I have officially earned respect from OFFICIAL DEKOY, great!

[@kristin332]

yay

[@erikatorres9800]

Hi

[@azure.95]

I'm a little late, around 20 minute's but I'll take that. 😁

[@ROchoa-pd5qo]

Thank you for this, amazing research respect.

[@AMildCaseOfCovid]

I was delighted with how jerks on Wall Street are a big reason why the Nintendo thrived. It was interesting to see how much help Nintendo had from western influences which is cool.

[@Etendo_YT]

It would be so cool, if you'd make more parts. the whole history

[@starshine_Ultra]

I love you nintendo. You gave me back so many memories. Thank you ❤️

[@Swagmaster07]

Heck, there was even a love hotel console joke, but also kinda true.

[@kendricksolace9150]

i feel kinda old for still having the hanafuda card set given to me by my grandfather. it still has an old nintendo koppai logo (the black spade with the small N in the middle)

[@joxzsh9553]

I bid!

[@pinkywinky911]

You better take good care of those cards. 😃 I bet they’re worth a fortune!

[@altadeam]

I never expect to stumbled upon this history

[@zion6680]

That Tony Jay Super Nintendo commercial gives me chills lol

[@darylmsimpson]

0:10 that was definitely Paul Rudd in his first on screen acting role.

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

Part 4 I hope will come maybe in a month

[@valentinroesler4120]

This was the most hooking three part story this year for me

[@hithere8753]

That's Megabytes voice! I also love how you didnt mention the Wii U

[@kamilradzikowski1663]

we do not mention the wii u

[@akimbofurry2179]

you messed up that line, A game that can be played anywhere, cars, planes, and automobiles. Would have made an epic reference.

[@LordRayken]

The NES and Gameboy are NOT forgotten.

[@melloproductions]

This is so interesting!

[@TEKKENKING23]

NES was my first video game system & the first game of that I played was Super Mario Bros.

[@opportunityknocks3088]

For those that didn't know that guy in the opening was Paul Rudd(Marvel's Ant Man)

[@mangupgaming7811]

7:46 The 8-Bit Guy😀😁😂

[@thesolipsismdilettante6498]

The double screen Donkey Kong was like the DS. Every Aussie kid in the school yard sat down playing a tiny laptop like computer. Then banned because of theft. They were gold in high demand

[@071Rishi]

my first video game console, i still remember it. the ninja turtles is my favorite ❤️❤️❤️❤️. i never get that awesome feeling in new games these days really

[@parkb5320]

2:18 The Famicom was released on June 1, 1977? That can’t be right.

[@mahbaotan]

no mention on Wii U, I bought in US and hand carried home back to Singapore. Despite the failure of it, I am still happy that I own a brand new Mint Wii U.

[@onehitterquitter2130]

Amazing how much trouble to get started it was. Look at it now.

[@shibayamatomoki8430]

2:06 - "Forgo profits on the hardware. It is just a tool to sell software. Games is where we shall make our money." - Hiroshi Yamauchi, President of Nintendo (console wars - 1980s) *["Forgo profits on Android/iOS devices. It is just a tool to sell Apps. PlayStore/Apple+ is where we shall make our money"] - summary of smartphone wars - today **[]disclaimer, not a real quote, but you kind of get the repeated history and deja vu here. Hiroshi saying that in the 1980s was pretty ahead of his time, and even now.

[@pronounjow]

2:20 1977? Don't you mean 1983?

[@Inescapeium]

Gotta love his deep monotone voice

[@wowulam7411]

7:41 didnt know john stossel was a fan.

[@curtisnewton895]

really interesting and refreshing stuff

[@celestialcloxds]

I didn't know the Game Boy was launched on my b-day!

[@tlunceford77]

The janitor did it again

[@Retr0Dima]

11:58 The N64, but no Super Nintendo? Imho the SNES was one if not the best system Nintendo ever made.

[@nerymuniz6427]

Well Now we're playing with rage Super Rage

[@WWECenationMan210]

Is it just me or was Paul Rudd in that commercial in the beginning of the video?

[@zadrico3301]

Wii U : WHYYY wasn’t I added there!!! At 12:03

[@rayrsd]

Everyone could agree that Nintendo switch was a new path to future

[@mattdunkley130]

I'm surprised Paul Rudd is in a nintendo Commercial and looks almost exactly the same

[@CarbyGuuGuu]

Famicom, forgotten? Dude, literally every Nintendo fan knows about it.

[@Maniac3020]

@7:41 Is that John Stossel?

[@FhargaZ]

2:19 two years later? Wasn't the Famicom released on 1983 in Japan?

[@johnwinchester7472]

i still got my NES, it works great, i love it and will never sell it, also got a micky mouse and donkey kong Game and Watch, i also love the sega master system and will never sell it either, my mum got them when i was about 5 years old, im 35 now and still play them sometimes, these consoles led to to do computer repairs later in life and collect more video games

[@Maxler5795]

i just learned the Famicom released in my birthday

[@maertzierast2651]

Love how he left out the WiiU

[@cspeegle06]

Was that Paul Rudd in the opening commercial?