Editing Nintendo (section)

==== 1979–1987: Game & Watch, arcade games, and Nintendo Entertainment System ====<!-- 3rd generation of video game consoles -->
{{Further|Game & Watch#Origin and design|History of the Nintendo Entertainment System|label1=History of Game & Watch|label2=History of Nintendo Entertainment System}}

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Two key events in Nintendo's history occurred in 1979: its American subsidiary was opened in New York City, and a new department focused on arcade game development was created. In 1980, one of the first [[handheld game console|handheld video game systems]], the ''[[Game & Watch]]'', was created by Yokoi from the technology used in portable calculators.<ref name="Nintendo History"/><ref name="vice yokoi"/> It became one of Nintendo's most successful products, with over 43.4&nbsp;million units sold worldwide during its production period, and for which 59 games were made in total.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://us.wii.com/iwata_asks/mario25th/vol2_page1.jsp |title=Iwata Asks: ''Super Mario Bros.'' 25th Anniversary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009040511/http://us.wii.com/iwata_asks/mario25th/vol2_page1.jsp |archive-date=9 October 2010 |access-date=25 May 2020 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Donkey Kong arcade at the QuakeCon 2005.png|thumb|right|upright=0.5|''[[Donkey Kong (1981 video game)|Donkey Kong]]'' miniature arcade cabinet]]

Nintendo entered the [[arcade video game]] market with ''[[Sheriff (video game)|Sheriff]]'' and ''[[Radar Scope]]'', released in Japan in 1979 and 1980 respectively. ''Sheriff'', also known as ''Bandido'' in some regions, marked the first original video game made by Nintendo, and was published by [[Sega]] and developed by [[Genyo Takeda]] and [[Shigeru Miyamoto]].<ref name="The Father of Modern Video Games"/><ref name="Bankhurst 2019">{{cite web | last=Bankhurst | first=Adam | title=Japanese Government Honors Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto As Person of Cultural Merit | website=IGN | date=30 October 2019 | url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/30/japanese-government-honors-nintendos-shigeru-miyamoto-as-person-of-cultural-merit | access-date=21 October 2022 | archive-date=21 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021002012/https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/30/japanese-government-honors-nintendos-shigeru-miyamoto-as-person-of-cultural-merit | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Calvert 2015">{{cite web | last=Calvert | first=Darren | title=Before They Were Enemies, Sega And Nintendo Worked On One Of The Rarest Arcade Games Ever Made | url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/03/feature_before_they_were_enemies_sega_and_nintendo_worked_on_one_of_the_rarest_arcade_games_ever_made | website=Nintendo Life | date=24 March 2015 | access-date=18 October 2022 | archive-date=18 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018034959/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/03/feature_before_they_were_enemies_sega_and_nintendo_worked_on_one_of_the_rarest_arcade_games_ever_made | url-status=live }}</ref> ''Radar Scope'' rivaled ''[[Galaxian]]'' in Japanese arcades but failed to find an audience overseas and created a financial crisis for the company.<ref name="high score nintendo arcade start">{{cite book|last1=DeMaria|first1=Rusel|last2=Wilson|first2=Johnny L.|title=High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games|date=2003|publisher=McGraw-Hill/Osborne|location=New York|isbn=0-07-223172-6|page=231|edition=2}}</ref> To try to find a more successful game, they put Miyamoto in charge of their next arcade game design, leading to the release of ''[[Donkey Kong (1981 video game)|Donkey Kong]]'' in 1981, one of the first [[platform game|platform video games]] that allowed the player character to jump.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.polygon.com/features/2014/1/20/5227582/the-rise-of-the-jump |title=The rise of the jump |last=Butler |first=Tom |date=20 January 2014 |website=Polygon |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=14 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114054823/http://www.polygon.com/features/2014/1/20/5227582/the-rise-of-the-jump |url-status=live }}</ref> The character Jumpman would later become [[Mario]] and Nintendo's official [[mascot]]. Mario was named after [[Mario Segale]], the landlord of Nintendo's offices in [[Tukwila, Washington]].<ref name=donjames1>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2012/02/gamelife-podcast-episode-18/ |title=Game Life Podcast: When Jay Mohr Met Tomonobu Itagaki |first=Chris |last=Kohler |magazine=Wired |date=February 17, 2012 |access-date=September 28, 2024 |archive-date=April 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417022605/https://www.wired.com/2012/02/gamelife-podcast-episode-18/ |quote="And so we thought, 'This guy [Segale] is a recluse. No one's ever actually met him.' So we thought, 'Wouldn't it be a great joke if we named this character Mario?' And so we said, 'That's great,' and we sent a telex to Japan, and that's how Mario got his name."}} Interview with Don James starts at 51:16. Quotation occurs at 52:00.</ref><ref name=donjames2>{{cite web |date=June 14, 2018 |title=Nintendo Treehouse Live - E3 2018 - Arcade Archives Donkey Kong, Sky Skipper |website=[[YouTube]] |publisher=Nintendo Everything |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CizC6MqyiJM&t=138s |url-status=live |access-date=September 28, 2024 |archive-date=October 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003035157/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CizC6MqyiJM |quote="Mr. Arakawa, who was the president, and myself looked at the character, and we had a landlord that happened to be named Mario as well, and we'd never met the guy, so we thought it'd be funny to name this main character Mario after our landlord in Southcenter. And that's actually how Mario got his name."}} Quotation occurs at 2:25.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://technologizer.com/2010/04/25/mario/ |title=The True Face of Mario |last=Edwards |first=Benj |date=25 April 2010 |work=[[Technologizer]] |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=25 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625120834/http://technologizer.com/2010/04/25/mario/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Donkey Kong'' was a financial success for Nintendo both in Japan and overseas, and led Coleco to fight Atari for licensing rights for porting to home consoles and personal computers.<ref name="high score nintendo arcade start"/>

In 1983, Nintendo opened a new production facility in Uji and was listed in the first section of the [[Tokyo Stock Exchange]].<ref name="Nintendo History"/> Uemura, taking inspiration from the [[ColecoVision]],<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.glitterberri.com/developer-interviews/how-the-famicom-was-born/deciding-on-the-specs/ |title=How the Famicom Was Born – Part 7 |date=19 December 1994 |last=Takano |first=Masaharu |magazine=Nikkei Electronics |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=21 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521134914/https://www.glitterberri.com/developer-interviews/how-the-famicom-was-born/deciding-on-the-specs/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> began creating a new video game console that would incorporate a [[ROM cartridge]] format for video games as well as both a [[central processing unit]] and a [[picture processing unit]].<ref name="Nintendo History"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/an-insiders-memories-of-making-the-nintendo-entertainme-1737014878 |title=How Nintendo Made the NES (And Why They Gave It A Gun) |website=Kotaku |last=Narcisse |first=Evan |date=16 October 2015 |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=21 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521132516/https://kotaku.com/an-insiders-memories-of-making-the-nintendo-entertainme-1737014878 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SevenThings">{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/18/9554885/nintendo-entertainment-system-famicom-history-masayuki-uemura |title=7 things I learned from the designer of the NES |website=The Verge |last=O'Kane |first=Sean |date=18 October 2015 |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=19 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019130146/http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/18/9554885/nintendo-entertainment-system-famicom-history-masayuki-uemura |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Family Computer]], or Famicom, was released in Japan in July 1983 along with three games adapted from their original arcade versions: ''Donkey Kong'', ''[[Donkey Kong Jr.]]'' and ''[[Popeye (video game)|Popeye]]''.{{Sfn|Kent|2001|pp=279, 285}} Its success was such that in 1984, it surpassed the market share held by [[Sega]]'s [[SG-1000]].<ref name="Retro163">{{cite magazine|last=Marley|first=Scott |date=December 2016 |title=SG-1000 |magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] |issue=163|pages=56–61|publisher=[[Future Publishing]]}}</ref> That success also led to Nintendo leaving the Japanese arcade market in late 1985.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19860301p.pdf#page=13|title=Coin-Op "Super Mario" Will Shop To Overseas|publisher=Amusement Press|date=March 1, 1986|access-date=April 20, 2024|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417062723/https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19860301p.pdf#page=13|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19870501p.pdf#page=14|title="Fami-Com" Exceeds 10M. Its Boom Is Continuing|publisher=Amusement Press|date=May 1, 1987|access-date=April 20, 2024|archive-date=24 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324174702/https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19870501p.pdf#page=14|url-status=live}}</ref> At this time, Nintendo adopted a series of guidelines that involved the validation of each game produced for the Famicom before its distribution on the market, agreements with developers to ensure that no Famicom game would be adapted to other consoles within two years of its release, and restricting developers from producing more than five games per year for the Famicom.{{Sfn|Kent|2001|pp=308, 372, 440–441}}

In the early 1980s, several video game consoles proliferated in the United States, as well as low-quality games produced by [[Third party developer|third-party developers]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Jones |first=Robert S. |date=12 December 1982 |title=Home Video Games Are Coming Under a Strong Attack |newspaper=[[The Gainesville Sun]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19821212&id=L2tWAAAAIBAJ&pg=1609,4274079&hl=en |access-date=18 November 2020 |archive-date=1 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201160250/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19821212&id=L2tWAAAAIBAJ&pg=1609,4274079&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> which oversaturated the market and led to the [[video game crash of 1983]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/17/business/video-games-industry-comes-down-to-earth.html |title=Video Games Industry Comes Down To Earth |first=N.R. |last=Kleinfield |date=17 October 1983 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=13 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913223742/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/17/business/video-games-industry-comes-down-to-earth.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Consequently, a recession hit the American [[video game industry]], whose revenues went from over $3&nbsp;billion to $100&nbsp;million between 1983 and 1985.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250524 |title=Mario, the World's Most Famous Video-Game Character, is 30 Years Old |last=Morris |first=Chris |date=10 September 2015 |website=Entrepreneur |access-date=28 May 2020 |archive-date=5 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805090246/https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250524 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nintendo's initiative to launch the Famicom in America was also impacted. To differentiate the Famicom from its competitors in America, Nintendo rebranded it as an entertainment system and its [[ROM cartridge|cartridges]] as Game Paks, with a design reminiscent of a [[Videocassette recorder|VCR]].<ref name="SevenThings" /> Nintendo implemented a [[CIC (Nintendo)|lockout chip]] in the Game Paks for control on its third party library to avoid the market saturation that had occurred in the United States.<ref name="takiff19860620">{{cite news|last=Takiff|first=Jonathan|title=Video Games Gain In Japan, Are Due For Assault On U.S.|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QBhcAAAAIBAJ&pg=2846,1271636|access-date=10 April 2012|newspaper=[[The Vindicator]]|date=20 June 1986|page=2|archive-date=2 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202203249/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QBhcAAAAIBAJ&pg=2846,1271636|url-status=live}}</ref> The result is the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], or NES, which was released in North America in 1985.<ref name="Nintendo History" /> The landmark games ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' and ''[[The Legend of Zelda (video game)|The Legend of Zelda]]'' were produced by Miyamoto and [[Takashi Tezuka]]. Composer [[Koji Kondo]] reinforced the idea that musical themes could act as a complement to game mechanics rather than simply a miscellaneous element.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Koji Kondo's ''Super Mario Bros.'' Soundtrack |last=Schartmann |first=Andrew |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-62892-853-2 |location=New York |page=30}}</ref> Production of the NES lasted until 1995,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/View.php?view=ConsoleMuseum.Detail&id=26&game=5|title=Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) – 1985–1995|work=Classic Gaming|publisher=GameSpy|access-date=20 December 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029033423/http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/View.php?view=ConsoleMuseum.Detail&id=26&game=5|archive-date=29 October 2012}}</ref> and production of the Famicom lasted until 2003.<ref name="FamicomEnd">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329053251/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-to-end-famicom-and-super-famicom-production/1100-6029220/ |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-to-end-famicom-and-super-famicom-production/1100-6029220/ |title=Nintendo to end Famicom and Super Famicom production. |website=GameSpot |date=30 May 2003 |archive-date=29 March 2014}}</ref> In total, around 62&nbsp;million Famicom and NES consoles were sold worldwide.<ref name="ConsolidatedSales">{{cite web |url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e0912.pdf |title=Consolidated Sales Transition by Region |access-date=14 February 2010 |date=27 January 2010 |publisher=First console by Nintendo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224231633/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e0912.pdf |archive-date=24 February 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> During this period, Nintendo created a copyright infringement protection in the form of the Official Nintendo Seal of Quality, added to their products so that customers may recognize their authenticity in the market.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hipertextual.com/2013/07/30-aniversario-de-la-nes-famicom |title=Historia de la Tecnología: 30 años de NES |language=es |last=Velasco |first=J.J. |website=hipertextual |date=15 July 2013 |access-date=2 June 2020 |archive-date=19 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919030016/https://hipertextual.com/2013/07/30-aniversario-de-la-nes-famicom |url-status=live }}</ref> By this time, Nintendo's network of electronic suppliers had extended to around thirty companies, including [[Ricoh]] (Nintendo's main source for [[semiconductor]]s) and the [[Sharp Corporation]].{{Sfn|Sheff|2011}}

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