Nintendo and Willa Ford: Difference between pages

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{{Infobox_Company |

{{unreferenced}}

company_name = Nintendo |

company_logo = [[Image:Nintendo.png|251px|center|Nintendo Logo]] |

company_type = [[Public company|Public]]|

company_slogan = Various — Born to play; Now you're playing with power; Play it loud; The Nintendo difference; Get N or Get Out; Who are you?; Touching is good; Too Much Fun; Gaming 24:7; |

foundation = [[1889]] |

___location = HQ in [[Kyoto]], [[Japan]]

United States: [[Redmond, Washington|Redmond]], [[Washington]]/[[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]/[[San Diego, California|San Diego]], [[California]]

Canada: [[Richmond, British Columbia|Richmond]], [[British Columbia]]/[[Toronto]], [[Ontario]]

Europe: [[Großostheim]], [[Germany]]

Australia: [[Scoresby]], [[Melbourne]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]/[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]

China: [[Suzhou]] (as iQue Ltd.)|

key_people = [[Satoru Iwata]]: president; [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]]: former president and chairman; [[Minoru Arakawa]] and [[Howard Lincoln]]: former heads of American division; [[Shigeru Miyamoto]]: noted game designer |

num_employees = approx. 2,977 |

industry = [[Computer and video game industry|Video games]], [[card games]] |

products = [[Hanafuda]],[[Color TV Game]], [[Game & Watch]], [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]], [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]], [[Game Boy]] (Pocket, Light, Color, Advance, Advance SP, Micro), [[Virtual Boy]], [[Nintendo 64]], [[GameCube]], [[Nintendo DS]],[[Nintendo Revolution]], numerous video games |

revenue = [[image:green up.png]]$4.643 billion [[United States dollar|USD]] ([[2004]])|

homepage = [http://www.nintendo.com/ www.nintendo.com]

}}

'''Willa Ford''' (born '''Amanda Lee Williford''' on [[January 22]], [[1981]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[pop singer]].

'''Nintendo''' ([[Japanese language|Japanese]]: 任天堂; {{Template:nasdaq|NTDOY}}, {{Template:tyo|7974}}) is a [[Japanese company]] originally founded in [[1889]] by [[Fusajiro Yamauchi]] to produce handmade [[hanafuda]] cards, for use in a Japanese playing [[card game]] of the same name. In the mid-twentith century, the company tried several small niche businesses, such as a love hotel and a taxi company. Over the years, it became a [[Computer and video games|video game]] company, one of the most powerful in the [[Video game industry|industry]]. Aside from video games, Nintendo is also the majority owner of the [[Seattle Mariners]], a [[Major League Baseball]] team. Nintendo has also purchased majority ownership of Gyration, a company specializing in gyros and motion sensors, for assistance in designing the [[controller]] of the [[Nintendo Revolution]].

[[Image:Willaford.jpeg|right|thumbnail|Willa Ford]]

Nintendo is the longest running company in the history of the [[video game console]] market and historically the most influential and best known [[console manufacturer]]. They began in the Japanese market in 1983, the [[North America]]n market in 1985, and the European market in 1986. Over time Nintendo has manufactured five TV consoles — the [[Famicom]]/[[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]], the [[Super Famicom]]/[[Super NES]], the [[Nintendo 64]], and the present [[Nintendo GameCube|GameCube]] and the upcoming [[Nintendo Revolution]] — and many different [[handheld game console|handheld]] [[portable]]s, including seven versions of their popular [[Game Boy]], the [[Game & Watch]], the [[Virtual Boy]], the [[Pokémon Mini]], and the [[Nintendo DS]]. They have also published over 250 games, developing at least 180 of them, and have sold over 2 billion games worldwide.

==HistoryBiography==

Willa was born and raised in [[Ruskin, Florida]]. She began pursuing her dream of becoming a singer at the age of 8, when she started singing with the ''Tampa Bay Children's Choir''. By the time she reached age 11, she had moved on from the children’s choir to the Tampa-based children’s performing arts troupe, ''Entertainment Revue''. This group consisted of 20 girls ages 5-16. The tour the area and sang at such places as, [[Walt Disney World]] and Busch Gardens. Willa worked hard in the group and moved her way up from a chorus member to the role of featured soloist. When Willa was 15, she left the troupe and landed spot with a local foursome ''FLA''. She didn’t stay long with the group before deciding to head out to Los Angeles.

{{main|History of computer and video games}}

In 1999 Willa while performing under the stage name '''Mandah''', she was signed to [[MCA]]. While with MCA she released a song on the double-platinum soundtrack ‘''Pokémon The First Movie’'' called ‘''Lullaby''’. She also landed a spot as an opening act for the [[Backstreet Boys]]. Which managed to attract a lot of attention, for her performances as well as her relationship with one of its members. Soon Willa’s label changed her stage name from Mandah, to avoid confusion with another female singer, to Willa Ford and tried to promote a beautiful singer with a good-girl image. After some negative publicity that tainted their clean-cut image for Willa, MCA decided to drop her, letting her move on to a label that would embrace her bad-girl image.

=== 1889–1968 ===

Nintendo started as a small Japanese business by [[Fusajiro Yamauchi]] in [[1889]] as ''Nintendo Koppai''. The name, "''Ninten''" roughly translates as "leave luck to heaven" or "in heaven's hands". Based in [[Kyoto, Japan]], the business produced and marketed a playing card game called ''[[Hanafuda]]''. The cards, which were all handmade, soon began to gain popularity and Yamauchi had to hire assistants to mass produce cards to keep up with the high demand.

It wasn’t long before [[Lava/Atlantic]] would give Willa a deal and put her in to studio with a diverse variety of writers and producers. Although she had many talented writers working with her, Willa was determined to write most of the lyrics herself, which was unlike other teen singers at the time. She would use her life for material or make up a character that she would want to be.

In [[1929]], Yamauchi retired from the company and allowed his son-in-law, [[Sekiryo Yamauchi]], to take over the company as president. In [[1933]] Sekiryo Yamauchi established a joint venture with another company and thus renamed the company ''Yamauchi Nintendo & Co.'' In [[1947]] Sekiryo established the company ''Marufuku Co. Ltd'' to distribute the Hanafuda cards, as well as several other brands of cards that had been introduced by Nintendo.

On July 17, 2001 Willa released her debut album ‘''Willa Was Here''’. The album contained the single (with a hyper link to the sexy video), ‘''I Wanna Be Bad''’. The album used smooth pop/R&B grooves, hot dance beats and vocoders. Although Willa has the beauty and talent mixed in with a hit single, her album only reached #56 on the [[Billboard Charts]].

[[Hiroshi Yamauchi]], the grandson of Sekiryo Yamauchi, took office as the president of Nintendo during the year of [[1949]]. He renamed Yamauchi Nintendo & Co. ''Nintendo Playing Card Company, Ltd.'', and, in [[1951]] he renamed their distribution company, Marufuku Co. Ltd., to ''Nintendo Karuta Co. Ltd''.

While promoting her album, Willa did a Mall tour for ''Nautica Kids'', served as the spokesperson for ''Pantene Pro-V’s ‘Pro-Voice’'' campaign, and appeared on the in-concert cable special, ''Teensation''. Also [[MTV]] got Willa to host their reality series ‘''I Bet You Will''’. MTV was impressed by Willa’s hosting they got her to also host their Spring Break series, which included ‘''The Morning After''’. Willa’s song ‘''I Wanna Be Bad''’ became the theme song for ''Six-Flags'' theme parks and was also use by ''7-UP'' for one of their campaigns. Willa also became a model for ''Bongo'' Ads. In 2002 Willa co-wrote and sang a duet with [[Koreans|Korean]] Pop star [[Park Ji Yoon]] intitled ‘''Nastified''’, which was on Park's 5th album ''Man''.

In [[1959]], Nintendo struck a deal with [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] to have them allow Nintendo to use Disney's characters on Nintendo's playing cards. The deal was a success and sold at least 600,000 cards in a single year.

In 2003 Willa came back with a hot dance song that forever immortalized a sorority chant, ‘''A Toast To Men''’, which featured a special guest rapper [[Lady May]]. The single was from her unreleased sophomore album ‘''Sexysexobsessive''’. The single did well, but cause of some legalities at her label her album wasn’t released. This also caused Willa to leave the label and go in search for a new one.

Following this, in [[1963]], Nintendo Playing Card Company Ltd. was renamed ''Nintendo Co. Ltd.'' by Hiroshi and Nintendo began to experiment in other areas of business. During the period of time between 1963 and [[1968]], Nintendo founded a [[taxi]] company and a "[[love hotel]]", as well as producing [[toy]]s, [[game]]s and several other things (including a [[vacuum cleaner]]). Both the taxi company and love hotel ended in failure and were eventually closed.

While fans wait for a her sophomore release, Willa has made some appearances. In 2005 Willa was chosen from many candidates to host the fighting competition reality show ‘''The Ultimate Fighter''’. After the show’s finale Willa got a shot at being the summers guest doll, for the Vegas ''Pussy Cat Dolls'' show. As well as being one of the celebrity quarterbacks in the upcoming ''2006 Lingerie Bowl III''. Which will air during the ''Super Bowl'' halftime.

=== 1969–1980 ===

In [[1969]] Nintendo established a games division within their company. In the following years, Nintendo produced several successful toys and games, the most notable being their [[beam gun]]s and ''Ultra Hand'', an arm expansion toy. Most of these inventions were the ideas of a new Nintendo employee, [[Gunpei Yokoi]].

==Discography==

In [[1973]] Nintendo expanded on their light gun idea with the introduction of ''The Laser Clay Shooting System'', which used [[solar cell]]s to simulate clay pigeon shooting. The Laser Clay Shooting System was another huge success. In [[1974]] the same idea was reused with the introduction of ''[[Wild Gunman]]'', which was a laser gun game where a player would attempt to draw a light gun and shoot at an image of a gunman before the gunman "shot back". Wild Gunman was exported to the [[United States|USA]] and [[Europe]].

===Albums===

During [[1975]] Yamauchi began doing research into a new American trend in which one could connect a device to a [[television]] in order to play simple games, called [[console game|video games]]. Other companies, such as [[Atari]], had had some success in this field and Hiroshi decided it would be a good business venture for Nintendo to delve into. In the same year, he negotiated a deal with [[Magnavox]] to allow Nintendo to produce and sell the [[Magnavox Odyssey]], a simple [[video game console]]. Since Nintendo didn't have the necessary equipment to manufacture these machines, they created a pact with [[Mitsubishi]], who would manufacture them.

*2001: Willa Was Here

With Nintendo's new relationship with Mitsubishi, in [[1977]] the two companies released their joint effort video game machine, the ''Color TV Game 6'', which allowed players to play six different very simple versions of [[tennis]], which sold millions of units. 1977 is also the year [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] joined Nintendo, working as an art designer for [[arcade game]]s.

===Singles===

Soon, Nintendo released several other successful home video game consoles, including an advanced version of the [[Color TV Game]] 6, called the ''Color TV Game 15'', a racing game, and another game called Kusure, or ''Blockbuster'' .

*2001: I Wanna Be Bad (feat. Royce Da 5'9)

In [[1979]] Nintendo began design work for what was to be their first [[handheld game console]], the [[Game & Watch]], which was another idea of Gunpei Yokoi. It was released in [[1980]], which is also the year that Nintendo announced the addition of a new wholly owned subsidiary, located in [[New York]], named ''Nintendo of America''. The Game & Watch was ''very'' successful.

*2001: Did Ya Understand That

*2001: Santa Baby (Gimme, Gimme, Gimme)

*2003: A Toast To Men (feat. Lady May)

=== 1981–1982 Soundtracks/Others===

[[Image:Donkey Kong arcade.PNG|frame|''Donkey Kong'' starred a [[carpenter]] named ''Jumpman'', who eventually went on to star in widely popular games of his own, although he is now known as [[Mario]].]]

Also in [[1980]], Nintendo began the production of [[arcade game]]s. These arcade games were mostly shoot-'em-ups sometimes using Nintendo's light gun, going under names such as ''Hellfire'' or ''Sheriff''. However, this direction changed when Shigeru Miyamoto was given the task of repurposing hardware left over after the commercial failure of the arcade alien shoot-'em-up ''[[Radar Scope]]''. Mr. Miyamoto went in a completely different direction and began work on ''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]'', with the help of Yokoi, which was an arcade game starring the attempts of a [[carpenter]] trying to rescue his girlfriend from an [[ape]]. Although originally frowned upon by fellow Nintendo workers, the release of Donkey Kong was a huge success and the game sold over 65,000 units, making it the most popular arcade game of the year.

*1999: Pokémon: The First Movie [Soundtrack]

During the same year, Nintendo, probably inspired by the success of Atari and several other companies, set to work on a new, more advanced [[cartridge (electronics)|multicartridge]] video game console. They knew that in order for the system to be successful, since other companies had already released multicartridge systems, that their console would have to be better than the rest, and still carry a feasible price.

*2001: Pantene Pro Voice Vol 1

*2001: Spyder Games [Soundtrack]

*2001: Totally Hits 2001

*2001: MTV: TRL Christams

*2002: Park Ji Yoon - Man

*2002: MTV-The Best Of Trl Pop

*2002: Undercover Brother [Soundtrack]

*2003: What A Girl Wants [Soundtrack]

*2003: Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star [Soundtrack]

*2004: Gay.com: Winter 2004 Hits

==Filmography==

In [[1982]] Nintendo released their sequel to Donkey Kong, [[Donkey Kong Jr.]] as an arcade game. Although not selling as many units as the original Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. still sold well, selling around 35,000 units. This was also the year they established Nintendo of America Inc. in Redmond, Washington and merged the New York subsidiary into it.

===Music 1983–1989 Videos===

In July [[1983]], Nintendo released their ''[[Famicom]]'' (''Family Computer'') system in [[Japan]], which was their first attempt at a cartridge-based video game console. The system was very successful, selling over 500,000 units within two months. The console was also technically superior and inexpensive when compared to its competitors, priced at about $100 [[United States dollar|USD]]. However, after a few months of the consoles selling well, Nintendo received complaints that some Famicom consoles would freeze when the player attempted to play certain games. The fault was found in a malfunctioning chip and Nintendo decided to recall all Famicon units currently on store shelves, which cost them almost half a million dollars USD.

*2001 I Wanna Be Bad

It was also in [[1983]] that Nintendo planned to release the Famicom in the USA. In the USA, however, the video game market had almost completely died out due to the large amount of low quality games. Nintendo decided that to avoid this, they would only allow games that received their "[[Nintendo Seal of Quality|Seal of Quality]]" to be sold for the Famicom, using a [[10NES]] lockout system to prevent unlicensed games.

*2001 Did Ya Understand That

*2001 Santa Baby (Gimme, Gimme, Gimme)

*2002 Uncle Kracker's: In A Little While -"Girlfriend"

*2003 A Toast To Men

===TV===

[[Image:Famicom.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Nintendo Famicom, released in 1983, received a warm welcome from the Japanese economy.]]

*2001 Pantene Pro-Voice Featuring Jewel - Herself

By [[1984]] the Famicom had proven to be a huge continued success in Japan. However, Nintendo also encountered a problem with the sudden popularity of the Famicom — they did not have the resources to manufacture games at the same pace they were selling them. To combat this, Yamauchi decided to divide his employees into three groups, the groups being ''Research & Development 1'' (R&D 1), ''Research & Development 2'' (R&D 2) and ''Research & Development 3'' (R&D 3). R&D 1 was headed by [[Gunpei Yokoi]], R&D 2 was headed by [[Masayuki Uemura]], and R&D 3 was headed by [[Takeda Genyo]]. Using these groups, Yamauchi hoped Nintendo would produce a low amount of high quality games rather than a high amount of average quality games.

*2001 The Mind of the Married Man - Herself

*2002 Six Flags Commercial - Herself

*2002 Rasing Dad - Edie "Bully"

*2002 I Bet You Will - Herself

*2002 The Miss Teen USA Pageant - Co-host

*2003 Morning After - Herself

*2004 VH1's 100 Most Outrageous Celebrity Moments - Herself "commentator"

*2004 VH1's My Coolest Years: Bad Girls - Herself "featured"

*2005 VH1's 100 Greatest Kids Stars - Herself "commentator"

*2005 WB Morning Show - Herself "featured"

*2005 The Ultimate Fighter - Host

*2005 My Fair Brady: Episode 3 - Herself "model"

*2005 The Fabulous Life Of: Las Vegas - Herself "featured"

*2005 ESPN Hollywood: Lingerie Bowl - Herself "featured"

*2005 Last Call With Carson Daly: Lingerie Bowl Event - Herself "featured"

==References==

In [[1985]] Nintendo announced they were going to release the Famicom worldwide – except under a different name – the ''[[Nintendo Entertainment System]]'' (NES) – and with a different design. In order to ensure the localization of the highest quality games by third-party developers, Nintendo of America limited the number of game titles third-party developers could release in a single year to five. [[Konami]], the first third-party company that was allowed to make cartridges for the Famicom, later challenged this rule by creating a spinoff company, [[Ultra (company)|Ultra Games]], to release additional games in a single year, although other manufactures followed the same tactic as Konami. In this year, [[Super Mario Bros.]] was also released for the Famicom in Japan and became a large success.

===Biography===

They soon began shipping the Nintendo Entertainment System to North America in [[1986]], along with 15 games, sold separately, and in the U.S. and Canada, it outsold its competitors on a ten to one scale. This was also the year that [[Metroid]] (Japan) and [[Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels|Super Mario Bros. 2]] (the Japanese version) were released.

*http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/ford_willa/bio.jhtml

In [[1988]], Nintendo of America unveiled [[Nintendo Power]], a monthly news and strategy magazine from Nintendo that served to advertise new games. The first issue published was July/August edition, which spotlighted the NES game [[Super Mario Bros. 2]]. Nintendo Power is still being published today with it's two-hundreth issue coming in Feb. '06.

*http://www.spiketv.com/shows/series/ultimatefighter/

*http://www.lingeriebowl.com/

*http://www.scopemag.com/2005/06/30/pussycats.html

===Albums===

In [[1989]], 100 years after the company was started, Nintendo released the [[Game Boy]], along with the accompanying game [[Tetris]] (widely considered one of the greatest games of all time). The Game Boy sold extremely well, eventually becoming the best selling video game console of all time, a record it holds to this day. Later, [[Super Mario Land]] was also released for the Game Boy, which sold 14 million copies worldwide. 1989 was also the year that Nintendo announced a sequel to their popular video game console, the Famicom, to be called the [[Super Famicom]].

*http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/103-3054812-9291015

By the end of the 1980s the courts found Nintendo guilty of anti-trust activities because it had abused its relationship with third party developers and created a [[monopoly]] in the gaming industry by not allowing developers to make games for any other platforms. They changed this rule during the Super NES era, allowing Sega to start a massive console war against Nintendo with the [[Sega Genesis]] and [[Game Gear]]. This would occur once more in 1996, when Sony released the [[Playstation]].

=== 1990–1995 Singles===

The Super Famicom was released in Japan on [[November 21]]st, [[1990]]. The system's launch was widely successful, and the Super Famicom was sold out across Japan within three days. In August [[1991]], the Super Famicom was launched in the U.S. under the name "the ''[[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]''" (SNES). The SNES was released in Europe in [[1992]].

*http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/103-3054812-9291015

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System followed in the steps of its predecessor, sporting a relatively low price and somewhat high technical specifications for its era. The controller of the SNES had also improved over that of the NES, as it now had rounded edges and several new buttons.

===Soundtracks/Others===

In Japan, the Super Famicom easily took control of the gaming market. Despite a slow start, the SNES in North America eventually overtook its competition, the [[Sega Genesis]], thanks to franchise titles such as [[Super Mario World]], [[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past]], [[Street Fighter 2]], and the [[Final Fantasy]] series. In the U.S., the Genesis barely outsold the SNES, however total worldwide sales of the SNES were higher than the Genesis.

*http://us.yesasia.com/gb/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1001822521/aid-561/section-music/code-k/version-all

1992 was the year in which Gunpei Yokoi and the rest of R&D 1 began planning on a new [[virtual reality]] console to be called the [[Virtual Boy]]. Hiroshi Yamauchi also bought shares of the [[Seattle Mariners]] in 1992.

===Music Videos===

In [[1993]] Nintendo announced plans to develop a new 64-bit console codenamed ''Project Reality'', that would be capable of rendering fully [[3D computer graphics|3D]] environments and characters. In [[1994]], Nintendo also claimed that Project Reality would be renamed ''Ultra 64'' in the US. The ''Ultra 64'' moniker was unveiled in arcades on the Nintendo branded fighting game "Killer Instinct" and the racing game "Cruisin' USA". "Killer Instinct" was later released on the SNES. Soon after, Nintendo realised the mistake they had made in choosing a name for their new console that the [[Konami]] corporation owned the rights to. Specifically, only Konami would have the rights to release games for the new system called ''[[Ultra (company)|Ultra]] Football'', ''Ultra Tennis'', etc. So, in [[1995]] Nintendo changed the final name of the system to the ''[[Nintendo 64]]'', and announced that it would be released in [[1996]]. They later showed previews of the system and several games, including [[Super Mario 64]], to the media and public.

*http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/ford_willa/audvid.jhtml

1995 is also the year that Nintendo purchased part of [[Rare (video game company)|Rareware]], a choice that would prove to be a wise investment.

*http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/uncle_kracker/audvid.jhtml

[[Image:Virtual Boy kit.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Nintendo released the Virtual Boy to much hype and fanfare in 1995. It was, however, [[List of commercial failures in computer and video gaming|unsuccessful]].]]

In the mid-[[1990s|90s]] Nintendo of America eased up on its stringent policies on blood and violence. After [[Sega]] created the [[Mega CD]] ([[Sega CD]] in North America) add on for its 16-bit machine, Nintendo initially contracted with [[Sony]] to develop an add-on [[CD-ROM]] drive for the SNES, but then they had second thoughts: afraid that Sony will get all the profit from the CD-ROM media, and also surprised at the failure of Sega's Mega CD, Nintendo terminated the contract and went with [[Philips]]. Nintendo announced their alliance with Philips at the same conference that Sony announced their CD-ROM drive. Nothing happened about the add-on drive in regard to the SNES, but Sony took the time and research and began to spin it off into a new product, the [[PlayStation]].

In 1995 Nintendo released the Virtual Boy in Japan. The console sold poorly, but Nintendo still said they had hope for it and continued to release several other games and attempted a release in the U.S., which was another disaster.

Also in [[1995]], Nintendo found themselves in a competitive situation. Competitor Sega introduced their 32-bit [[Sega Saturn|Saturn]], while newcomer Sony introduced the 32-bit [[PlayStation]]. Sony's fierce marketing campaigns ensued, and it started to cut into Nintendo and Sega's market share.

=== 1996–2001 ===

On [[June 23]] 1996, the ''Nintendo 64'' (N64) was released in Japan and was instantly a huge hit, selling over 500,000 units on the first day of its release. On [[September 29]] 1996, Nintendo released the [[Nintendo 64]] in the U.S. and Canada, and it too was a success.

Also in 1996, Nintendo also released the ''[[Game Boy Pocket]]'', a smaller version of the original Game Boy. On [[August 15]], about a week after the release of the Game Boy Pocket, Gunpei Yokoi resigned from his position in Nintendo, at the age of 56. He helped in the creation of a competitor system named the ''[[Wonderswan]]'', utilizing the skills he gained in the creation of the Game Boy.

On [[August 1]] [[1997]], the Nintendo 64 was finally released in Europe. ''[[Pocket Monsters]]'' (known as "[[Pokémon]]" in the North America and Europe) was also released in Japan in 1997 to a huge following. The Pokémon franchise was proving so popular that for a brief time, Nintendo took back their place as the supreme power in the games industry.

[[October 13]] [[1998]] was the day that ''[[Game Boy Color]]'' was released in Japan. Releases in North America ([[November 19]]) and Europe ([[November 23]]) followed. Days before Game Boy Color was released, on [[October 4]] 1997 the original creator of Game Boy, Gunpei Yokoi, died in a car accident at the age of 57.

The [[Nintendo 64DD]], an add on to the [[Nintendo 64]], was released in Japan on [[December 1]] [[1999]], after much delay. It was never released elsewhere.

Nintendo released the [[Game Boy Advance]] in Japan on [[March 21]] [[2001]]. This was followed by the North American launch on [[June 11]] and the European launch on [[June 22]]. Nintendo released their [[GameCube]] home video game console on [[September 14]] [[2001]] in Japan. It was released in North America on [[November 18]]th of 2001, and on [[May 5]] [[2002]] in Europe.

=== 2002–present ===

[[Image:Iwata-satoru.jpg|right|thumb|150px|[[Satoru Iwata]] is the current president of Nintendo]]

In [[2002]], [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]] stepped down as the president of Nintendo and named [[Satoru Iwata]] his successor. Also, Nintendo and Chinese-American scientist Dr. Wei Yen co-founded iQue, a company that manufactures and distributes official Nintendo consoles and games for the mainland [[China|Chinese]] market, under the iQue brand.

In May [[2004]], Nintendo announced plans to release a new brand of handheld, unrelated to the Game Boy — featuring two screens, one of which was touch-sensitive. The ''Nintendo DS'', released on [[November 21]], received over three million pre-orders. In addition to the touch screen, the DS can also create three-dimensional graphics, capable of somewhat surpassing those of the Nintendo 64, although it does not include hardware support for texture smoothing which results in more pixellated graphics than on the Nintendo 64.

President [[Satoru Iwata]] merged all of Nintendo's software designers under the EAD division, this was done to allocate more resources to [[Shigeru Miyamoto]]. As of [[2005]] Nintendo's internal development divisions are comprised of four groups (read [[Nintendo development divisions]] for more information).

* Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development

* Nintendo Integrated Research & Development

* Nintendo Software Production & Development

* Nintendo Technology & Development

On [[May 14]] [[2005]], Nintendo started up its first retail store in Rockefeller Center in [[New York City]], called Nintendo World. It is two stories tall, and contains many kiosks of GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS games. There are also display cases filled with things from Nintendo's past, including Hanafuda playing cards, Nintendo's first product. They celebrated the grand opening with a block party in Rockefeller Plaza. They plan to open the same store in other major U.S cities, those announced are [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]], [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], and [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]. Potential cities are [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], and [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]].

===Nintendo 64===

[[Image:Nintendo 64.jpg|right|185px]]

{{main|Nintendo 64}}

In September 1996, Nintendo introduced their third console, the '''Nintendo 64''' (N64), which featured vastly improved [[3D computer graphics|three dimensional graphics]] and a new [[analog stick]]. Nintendo chose to remain with the [[Cartridge (electronics)|cartridge]] medium, a surprising move, especially considering their competition's choice of emerging [[CD-ROM]] storage mediums. This may have affected the amount of games published on the Nintendo 64; CD-ROMs are cheaper to produce than cartridges, meaning cheaper costs for the [[third-party developer|third party]] publishers — since Nintendo did not choose to use CD-ROMs, publishers would be more swayed to publish for Sony's PlayStation, which did use CD-ROMs. This was also rumored to be the impetus for [[Square Co., Ltd.|Squaresoft]] (now [[Square Enix]]) stopping development of any further games for Nintendo, including their well-known [[Final Fantasy]] series, and moving over to the [[Sony PlayStation]], and later the [[PlayStation 2]].

Nintendo used the code names ''Project Reality'' and ''Ultra 64'' prior to the systems actual release, and these names are still used by some people. Nintendo also touted new "innovative" and "groundbreaking" elements of the Nintendo 64 — such as its four controller ports, an analog stick, and a [[64-bit]] processor

The first 3D Mario game was introduced on the N64 as [[Super Mario 64]], which has been the archetype for almost all 3D console games to this day. Other popular games were ''[[GoldenEye 007]]'', which ushered in a new era for console [[first-person shooter]] games, and ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]''; widely considered one of the best games of all time. This system's games are also significant as it was here that the power of the second-party was first recognised: [[Rareware]] produced several of their most lauded games for this console (including the aforementioned ''GoldenEye'', and also ''[[Perfect Dark]]'' and ''[[Banjo-Kazooie]]''.)

===Nintendo GameCube===

[[Image:S11 Video GameCube kl.PNG|right]]

{{main|Nintendo GameCube}}

The '''Nintendo GameCube''' is Nintendo's fourth generation console and their first disc-based console; it was released in Japan on [[September 14]], [[2001]], the U.S. on [[November 18]], 2001, in Europe on [[May 3]], [[2002]], and in [[Australia]] on [[May 17]], [[2002]]. The European launch boasted 20 titles at launch, which included ''[[Star Wars: Rogue Squadron|Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader]]'', ''[[Wave Race: Blue Storm]]'', ''[[Luigi's Mansion]]'', ''[[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3]]'' and ''International Superstars Soccer 2''.

Nintendo continued many of their popular franchises on the system, including ''[[Mario]]'', ''[[The Legend of Zelda series|The Legend of Zelda]]'', ''[[Star Fox series|Star Fox]]'', ''[[Metroid series|Metroid]]'', and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee|Super Smash Bros.]]''. The Nintendo GameCube is also responsible for several new franchises, including ''[[Pikmin series|Pikmin]]'', ''[[Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem]]'', the ''[[Viewtiful Joe]]'' series, and ''[[Project Number 03|P.N.03]]''. The GameCube also revived the Metroid series with the release of ''[[Metroid Prime]]'' and its direct sequel, ''[[Metroid Prime 2: Echoes]]''; although the games are no longer in the same style as the older Metroid games with the introduction of [[3D computer graphics|three dimensional graphics]] and a [[first-person shooter]] style. Nintendo had also gained exclusivity rights for the ''[[Resident Evil]]'' series and [[Capcom]] has released several GameCube-only Resident Evil titles, including ''[[Resident Evil 4]]'' which is critically acclaimed to be the best in the series. Eventually Capcom backed out and allowed the Resident Evil titles to be released on the PS2 system, including the once Gamecube exclusive Resident Evil 4. The Gamecube also saw the return of [[Square Enix]], the home of the flagship [[Final Fantasy]] series, as they released another Final Fantasy spinoff called [[Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles|Crystal Chronicles]] for the now [[DVD-ROM]] functional GameCube as well as [[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]] for the [[Gameboy Advance]].

Despite this, the GameCube is currently in last place in Australia, falling behind both Sony's [[PlayStation 2]] and [[Microsoft]]'s [[Xbox]] [http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/games/2004-11-07-halo_x.htm]. However, in the [[console wars]], it is in firm second place in Japan; while battling with the Xbox for second place in the American and European markets. In terms of hardware sales, the GameCube is in a close second place, ahead of Microsoft's machine by a small margin. Commentators have noted that whilst both Sony and Microsoft are losing money from every console they sell, Nintendo makes a profit from every GameCube sold. As of June 2005, the Nintendo GameCube has shipped 18.76 million worldwide.

===Nintendo "Revolution"===

[[Image:Revcon_screen001.jpg|right|175px]]

{{main|Nintendo Revolution}}

As with other console manufacturers in the industry, Nintendo is currently developing a new game console, codenamed "[[Nintendo Revolution|Revolution]]", that is expected to be released in [[2006]]. With Revolution, Nintendo has made their plans clear that they hope to change the way we watch and play video games by taking gaming into a new direction instead of merely upgrading hardware for the benefit of graphics.

The console is Nintendo's sleekest and smallest yet, about the size of three [[DVD]] cases stacked on top of each other; however, Nintendo has stated that the unveiled system is a [[prototype]] and the final product may be even smaller. The revolutionary aspect of the system comes from its unconventional controller, which in its basic form is shaped like a [[television]] [[remote control]] and includes a number of features, most notably, the direct pointing device which allows the system to understand six directions of movement (up, down, left, right, in, and out)and it can sense the angle of the controler. The controller additionally features a port located on the bottom which several accessories may use. So far Nintendo has shown an analog stick (called "[[Nunchaku|nunchuck]]" by NCL president Iwata during the TGS keynote) that can connect to that port and can be used concurrently with the main controller.

Thus far, it has been confirmed that the Revolution will be able to play NES, SNES, and N64 games, which will be downloadable for a fee through the [[Internet]] via Nintendo's online service, which will also offer downloadable demos for Revolution and the Nintendo DS. As well, it will also be backward compatible with [[GameCube]] discs, and will boast a "docking station" for GameCube accessories. The option to play DVDs on the console is also to be included with the purchase of an announced add-on.

==Handheld consoles==

===Game Boy===

''Main articles/the Nintendo handheld console lineage:''

* [[Game Boy]]

** [[Game Boy Pocket]]

** [[Game Boy Light]]

* [[Game Boy Color]]

* [[Game Boy Advance]]

** [[Game Boy Advance SP]]

** [[Game Boy Micro]]

<table align="right" border="0" cellspacing="3"><tr><td>[[Image:Gameboy.jpg|right|80px]]</td> <td>

[[Image:sp pwhite.jpg|right|85px]]</td></tr></table>

Introduced in 1989, and continuing strong today, were Nintendo's portable '''Game Boy''' systems. With several evolutions, including '''Pocket''', '''Light''', '''Color''', '''Advance''', '''Advance SP''', and '''Micro''' versions, the Game Boy is the single most successful, and oldest portable video game platform still in production. The Game Boy has been known for putting over a dozen other portable systems out of business (including Nintendo's other attempts such as the [[Nintendo Virtual Boy|Virtual Boy]]). Due to low battery consumption, durability, and a library of over a thousand games, the Game Boy has been on the top of the portable console food chain since its inception and made Nintendo the domineer of the handheld console market.

Slowing sales of the Game Boy were remedied by the introduction of the [[Pokémon]] game, which started a phenomenon of top selling video games, movies, merchandise, and TV shows. The Pokémon phenomena helped and continue to help rocket Game Boy sales all around the world.

===Nintendo DS===

''Main article:'' [[Nintendo DS]]

[[Image:Nintendo DS Cropped OF.PNG|175px|right]]

Nintendo released their '''Nintendo DS''' ('''''D'''ual '''S'''creen'' or '''''D'''eveloper's '''S'''ystem'') [[handheld game console]] first in the United States on [[November 21]] [[2004]], then in Japan on [[December 2]] 2004 and later on [[March 11]] [[2005]] in Europe. In the [[United States of America|U.S.]], shipments of the DS reached 500,000 within the first week, and in [[Japan]], the figures were even more impressive, reaching the same figure within four days of its launch. It has also proven to be the fastest-selling console in [[European]] history, having sold over 1 million units in ssix months (250,000 of those units in [[Great Britain]] alone).

The Nintendo DS features two backlit LCD screens, the bottom of which is touch sensitive, which can create a unique style of gameplay (see [[Kirby: Canvas Curse]] or [[WarioWare: Touched!]]). It also features a built in [[microphone]] and the ability to connect up to 16 Nintendo DS systems together wirelessly via [[Wi-Fi]] for multiplayer gaming. It can also play software designed originally for the [[Game Boy Advance]], but without multiplayer abilities, as the Nintendo DS lacks a wired extension port.

Nintendo has officially stated that the ''DS'' in the name can stand for two different things; '''D'''eveloper's '''S'''ystem to their developers, or '''D'''ual '''S'''creen to their consumers. The most popular usage is Dual Screen.

At the Game Developers Conference, Nintendo announced that they would be launching an online service for the Nintendo DS, allowing multiplayer gaming over the Internet. The online service will be very differient from competitors for it will be free to consumers who already have an internet connection at home or know of a wi-fi hotspot. As of October 18th, 2005, Nintendo has partnered up with Wayport to bring free Wi-Fi access to Nintendo DS owners. As of November 14th in America, November 25th in Great Britain and on December 28th in Dublin, the launch of their Nintendo DS Internet gaming service, over 6,000 [[McDonald's]] Restaurants nationwide will become free Wi-Fi hot-spots. Nintendo UK also announced plans for over 7500 British Wi-Fi hotspots, including McDonald's restaurants, football stadiums, hotels, motorway service stations, railway stations, student unions, airports, and libraries.

==Other hardware==

*[[Game & Watch]]

*[[Super Game Boy]] &ndash; Adapter for playing Game Boy games on the Super NES.

*[[Nintendo Virtual Boy|Virtual Boy]] &ndash; The Virtual Boy used a red monochrome 3D virtual reality like system. Fewer than two dozen games were released for it in the United States.

*[[Nintendo 64DD]] &ndash; Only released in Japan, this add-on system's games are on re-writeable magnetic disks. Games released include a paint and 3D construction package, [[F-Zero X Expansion Kit]], for creating new [[F-Zero X]] tracks and a few others. A complete commercial failure, many speculated that Nintendo released it only to save face after promoting it pre-emptively for years.

*[[Pokémon Mini]] &ndash; Unveiled in [[London]] at Christmas [[2000]], the Pokémon mini was Nintendo's cheapest console ever produced; with games costing £10 ($15) each, and the system costing £30 ($45). This remains the smallest games console ever made. Sales of this system were rather poor, but it is not a [[flop]] because Nintendo did make a profit on every game and system sold.

*[[Triforce (arcade system board)|Triforce]] &ndash; An arcade system based on [[Nintendo GameCube]] hardware, developed in partnership with [[Sega]] and [[Namco]].

*[[Game Boy Player]] &ndash; An adapter for playing Game Boy games on the GameCube.

*[[Nintendo iQue|iQue Player]] &ndash; A version of the Nintendo 64, with double the clock speed and downloadable games, released only in the Chinese market.

==Policies==

===Emulation===

Nintendo is known for a "no tolerance" stance against [[emulator|emulation]] of its video games and consoles. It claims that [[mask work copyright]] protects its games from the exceptions that United States [[copyright]] law otherwise provides for [[backup]] copies. Nintendo uses the claim that emulators running on [[personal computer]]s have no use other than to play [[software piracy|pirated]] video games, contested by some who say these emulators have been used to develop and test independently produced [[Homebrew (video games)|"homebrew" software]] on Nintendo's platforms, and that Nintendo's efforts fudge the truth about copyright laws, mainly that ROM copiers are illegal [they really are legal if used to dump un-DRM'd roms on to your computer for personal use], and that emulators are illegal [If they do not use copyrighted BIOS, or use other methods to run the game, they are legal].

The revival of the NES and SNES through emulation has gradually settled down, and NES and SNES ROMs are actually getting easier to find. A common justification pirates try to make is that they believe [the pirated games] will never see the light of day again and because the titles are no longer on sale, no damage is done to the company. However, Nintendo's opposition remains, due largely to its tendency to re-release old games within new ones, as with [[Animal Crossing]], [[Metroid Prime]], and [[The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition]], as well as with the re-release of many older games for the [[Game Boy Advance]] [[Classic NES Series]]. The [[enhanced remake]] idea sometimes, but not always, curbs the need for emulation of NES quality games on the [[Nintendo GameCube]]. Recently Nintendo has announced that their upcoming [[Nintendo Revolution]] console will be backwards compatible, allowing users to play Gamecube games by inserting the game discs. The system will also allow for the downloading of NES, SNES and N64 games onto the console over the Internet, with them being playable on the console which may actually be achieved through emulation. With this new feature, coined the "virtual console" by the company's president, Nintendo may be able to reduce the illegal ROM downloading and open up a new revenue stream, although success is still unknown.

===Censorship===

For many years, Nintendo of America had a policy of strict [[censorship]] for video games published on its systems. In [[1994]], when the [[Entertainment Software Rating Board|ESRB]] video game ratings system was introduced, Nintendo chose to abolish most of these policies in favor of gamers making their own choices about the content of the games they played. When this policy was still in effect, [[Religious symbolism|religious symbol]]s, appearance of excessive [[blood]] or [[gore]], [[nudity]], [[sexuality]], or [[smoking]] was all removed from licensed games. This [[zero tolerance]] policy was praised and championed by [[U.S. Senator]] [[Joe Lieberman]], but others criticized the policy, claiming that gamers should be allowed to choose the content they want to see. Today, changes to the content of games are done primarily by the game's developer. Nintendo has since allowed several mature-content games to be published on its systems, including (but not limited to): ''[[Perfect Dark]]'', ''[[Duke Nukem 3D]]'' (as ''[[Duke Nukem 64]]'') ''[[Conker's Bad Fur Day]]'', ''[[BMX XXX]]'', ''[[Resident Evil 4]]'', ''[[True Crime: Streets of L.A.]]'', and ''[[Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem]]'', and ''[[Geist]]'', all prime examples of Nintendo lessening their practices. These games are all rated "M" (for mature), as are their counterparts for Sony's and Microsoft's systems. Interestingly enough, the Playstation 2 version of ''BMX XXX'' had censored breasts in it, while Nintendo left it alone.

One known side effect of this policy was the [[Sega Genesis]] version of ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'' selling over double the number of the Nintendo's Super NES version, mainly due to the fact that Nintendo had forced [[Acclaim Entertainment|Acclaim]] to recolor the red blood to look like white sweat and replace some of the more gory attacks in their release of the game, unlike Sega, which allowed the selling points of blood and gore to remain in the Genesis version. (Nintendo allowed the Super NES version ''[[Mortal Kombat II]]'' to ship uncensored the following year.) Also, [[Square Co., Ltd.|Square]] executives have suggested that the price of publishing games on the [[Nintendo 64|Nintendo 64]] along with the degree of censorship and control Nintendo enforced over their games -- most notably ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' -- were factors in moving their games to [[Sony Computer Entertainment|Sony]]'s [[PlayStation]] console.

Although Nintendo had begun lessening their censorship of console games with the 1994 introduction of the ESRB, portable games continued to be censored for some time. For example, [[Konami]] was forced to remove all references to cigarettes in the [[2000]] GameBoy Color game ''[[Metal Gear: Ghost Babel|Metal Gear Solid]]''. Another example is the Game Boy version of ''[[Mortal Kombat II]]'', which contains no blood whatsoever and has extremely toned down fatalities (though it is unknown if this was at Nintendo's demand). However, Mature-rated GameBoy Advance games such as [[2003]]'s ''[[Max Payne]]'' and [[2004]]'s ''[[Grand Theft Auto Advance]]'' suggest that Nintendo is no longer interested in censoring the games that appear on its systems, console or portable.

Nintendo's censorship policies have created a view of Nintendo as a "kiddy company", which was taken advantage of by their competitors. In recent years, Nintendo has done much to shed this reputation and has begun to create more mature games such as ''[[Geist (video game)|Geist]]''. The original ''[[Super Smash Brothers]]'' on the [[Nintendo 64]] was rated E by the ESRB, while its GameCube sequel, ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' was rated T. The ''[[Metroid Prime]]'' games and the new ''[[Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]]'' have been notably more adult oriented.

===Public relations===

For years and to today, Nintendo has been regarded as a secretive company by the press. Rarely does Nintendo confirm or deny rumors. Nintendo is known as one of the top companies for customer service, however.

In this vein, Nintendo is known as the rulers of unveiling things at the Electronic Entertainment Expo ([[E3]]) in Los Angeles every year. The [[Nintendo DS]] was first revealed here, and many online sources rely on E3 to come around for Nintendo to launch news about new systems. However, at this year's Expo, Nintendo released very few technical details about their upcoming console, the [[Nintendo Revolution]]. The [[Nintendo Revolution#Controller|Nintendo Revolution controller]], which had been shrouded in secrecy, was revealed on [[September 16]], [[2005]] at the [[Tokyo Game Show]] (TGS).

Nintendo of America uses an outside firm, [[Golin Harris]], to handle much of its public relations. Beth Llewelyn is the in-house senior director of public relations at Nintendo of America. Tom Harlin is Nintendo of America's manager of public relations. Nintendo of Europe also uses an outside firm, [[Cake Media]], to handle much of its public relations.

==Community==

From 1995 to 1997, Nintendo's American community was hosted by AOL and called the [[Loudhouse]]. In 1997, the company paid for a very small BBS and Message Center hosted on their own servers. Starting in 2001, the online community was effectively shut down until around 2002, at which point NSider chat was reopened to subscribers of Nintendo Power. In April of 2003, Nintendo bought a [[Lithium Technologies]] license and moved the community to the Hyrule Town Square on Lithium servers. In November 2003, the full [[Nintendo NSider Forums]] opened. Still hosted by Lithium, this update came with a new look, new ranks, and integration with My Nintendo.

==People==

''See also [[:Category:Nintendo people|Nintendo people]]

*[[Fusajiro Yamauchi]] &mdash; Founder of Nintendo in 1889.

*[[Minoru Arakawa]] &mdash; Founder and former president of Nintendo of America.

*[[Hiroshi Yamauchi]] &mdash; Former president of Nintendo (1949-2002).

*[[Satoru Iwata]] &mdash; Current president of Nintendo.

*[[Shigeru Miyamoto]] &mdash; Nintendo's chief designer and video game producer. Largely known for creating many of Nintendo's most popular games including Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikmin, and the Legend of Zelda. In 1998 Miyamoto became the first person to be inducted into the [[Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame]].

*[[Gunpei Yokoi]] &mdash; Best-known as the creator of the [[Game Boy]] and the ''[[Metroid series]]''. Now deceased.

*[[Koji Kondo]] &mdash; Composer of music tracks in many Nintendo games.

*[[Yuka Tsujiyoko]] &mdash; Composer of music tracks in many Intelligent Systems games, most notably ''[[Paper Mario]]'' and the ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' series.

*[[Howard Philips]] &mdash; Creator of [[Nintendo Power]] magazine.

*[[Tatsumi Kimishima]] &mdash; Current president of Nintendo of America.

*[[Perrin Kaplan]] &mdash; Nintendo of America's Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Affairs

*[[Reggie Fils-Aime]] &mdash; Nintendo of America's current Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing

*[[Howard Lincoln]] &mdash; Now retired, a former Nintendo of America Senior Vice President.

*[[George Harrison (Executive)|George Harrison]] &mdash; Senior Vice President of marketing and corporate communications.

==Notable software and franchises==

''Related article:'' [[Franchises established on Nintendo systems]]

*[[Animal Crossing]]

*[[Balloon Fight]]

*[[Custom Robo]] (Confined to Japan until 2004)

*[[Donkey Kong]] ([[Nintendo EAD Tokyo]]) - Dates back to its original line of arcade games. Introduced Mario, then known as "Jumpman".

*[[EarthBound]] (called "Mother" in Japan)

*[[Excitebike]]

*[[Fire Emblem]] ([[Intelligent Systems]]) (Confined to Japan until 2003)

*[[F-Zero]] (Nintendo EAD)

*[[Game & Watch]] - Nintendo's oldest franchise

*[[Golden Sun]] (Camelot) - Developed by a third party

*[[Kid Icarus]] ([[Intelligent Systems]])

*[[Kirby]] ([[HAL Laboratory, Inc.]])

*[[The Legend of Zelda series|The Legend of Zelda]] (Nintendo EAD) - One of the company's most popular franchises and widely considered to be among the best franchises ever. It has won numerous awards including several "Greatest Game of all Time" awards.

*[[Mach Rider]]

*[[Mario]] (Nintendo EAD) - Nintendo's flagship franchise and main influence in the platform genre.

*[[Metroid series|Metroid]] ([[Intelligent Systems]]) - One of the company's most popular franchises

*[[Nintendogs]] - Puppy simulator franchise with several cameos of other Nintendo Franchises

*[[Nintendo Wars]] ([[Intelligent Systems]]) (Confined to Japan until 2001; [[Advance Wars]] was not released in Japan due to [[September 11, 2001 attacks|9/11]] until Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2 was released there on November 25th, 2004)

*[[Pikmin series|Pikmin]]

*[[Punch-Out!!]]

*[[Pokémon]] ([[Game Freak]]) - Arguably the most influential (certainly the most lucrative) of Nintendo's recent franchises

*[[Star Fox series|Star Fox]] (Nintendo EAD)

*[[Super Smash Bros.]] ([[HAL Laboratory, Inc.]]) - A relatively new, critically lauded series of Nintendo's past successes

*[[Tetris Attack]] ([[Intelligent Systems]])

*[[Wario]]

==Divisions==

===First-party===

{{main|Nintendo development divisions}}

*[[Nintendo EAD Tokyo]] &mdash; Youngest group inside Nintendo; responsible for [[Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat]].

*[[Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development]] (Originally "Nintendo Research & Development 4") &mdash; Largest division at Nintendo. Managed by [[Shigeru Miyamoto]]. Responsible for Mario, Zelda, and F-Zero franchises.

*[[Nintendo Integrated Research & Development]] (Originally "Nintendo Research & Development 3") &mdash; Produced [[arcade games]] in the 1980s.

*[[Nintendo Licensing Division]] &mdash; Produces (and licenses) [[first-party developer|first-party]] games by independent developers.

*[[Nintendo Research & Development 1]] &mdash; Oldest team inside Nintendo.

*[[Nintendo Research & Development 2]] &mdash; "Experimental" group, responsible [[Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble]] and [[The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures]].

*[[Nintendo Research & Engineering]] &mdash; Hardware oriented.

*[[Nintendo Software Planning Division]] &mdash; Specializing in communicating with overseas developers.

*[[Nintendo Software Technology Corporation]] &mdash; First inhouse development studio of Nintendo of America.

*[[Nintendo Special Planning & Development]] &mdash; Recently formed development group focusing on [[Pokémon Mini]], the [[e-Reader]], and the Game Boy Advance.

===Second-party===

*[[Brownie Brown]] &mdash; Software developer consisting of former members of [[Square Co., Ltd.|Squaresoft]].

*[[Game Freak]] &mdash; developer of the [[Pokémon]] [[video game series]].

*[[Genius Sonority]] &mdash; Newly formed developer; responsible for [[Pokemon Colosseum]].

*[[HAL Laboratory]] &mdash; Responsible for the Kirby franchise, [[Super Smash Bros. Melee]], and the development of the e-Reader.

*[[Intelligent Systems]] (Often confused with Nintendo Research & Development 1) &mdash; Established in 1986 by members of Nintendo Research & Development 1 to develop games. Responsible for Metroid, Fire Emblem, and Nintendo Wars franchises.

*[[Retro Studios]] &mdash; Former [[second-party developer|second-party]], now wholly-owned by Nintendo; responsible for the [[Metroid Prime]] series.

*[[iQue]] &mdash; Responsible for Nintendo products in China, partially owned by Nintendo

==Arcade games released by Nintendo==

*[[Cruis'n USA]]

*[[Cruis'n World]]

*[[Cruis'n Exotica]]

*[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]

*[[Donkey Kong Jr. (arcade game)|Donkey Kong Jr.]]

*[[Donkey Kong 3]]

*[[Duck Hunt]]

*[[Excitebike]]

*[[F-Zero AX]]

*[[F-1 Race]]

*[[Hogan's Alley (arcade game)|Hogan's Alley]]

*[[Ice Climber]]

*[[Killer Instinct]]

*[[Mach Rider]]

*[[Mario Bros.]]

*[[Mario Kart: Arcade GP]]

*The [[Nintendo Super System]]

*The [[Nintendo Vs. Series]]

*The [[Play Choice 10]] series

*[[Popeye (video game)|Popeye]]

*[[Punch-Out!!]]

*[[Radar Scope]]

*[[Sheriff (arcade game)|Sheriff]]

*[[Super Mario Bros.]]

*[[Super Punch-Out!!]]

*[[Urban Champion]]

*[[Wild Gunman]]

==Anime==

On November 2004, Hiroshi Yamauchi announced that Nintendo would start making [[anime]]. Its first project is an adaption of the [[Hyakunin Isshu]] poem.

==Nintendo offices and locations==

Nintendo Co., Ltd (NCL), the main branch of the company, is based in [[Kyoto]], [[Kyoto Prefecture]], [[Japan]]. Nintendo of America (NOA), its [[United States|American]] division, is based in [[Redmond, Washington|Redmond]], [[Washington]] with a distribution center in [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], [[Georgia_(U.S. State)|Georgia]]. Nintendo of Canada, Ltd. (NOCL) is a based in [[Richmond, British Columbia|Richmond]], [[British Columbia]], with it's own distribution centre in [[Toronto, Ontario|Toronto]], [[Ontario]]. Nintendo of Australia, its [[Australia|Australian]] division, is based in [[Scoresby]], [[Melbourne]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], and Nintendo Europe, the [[Europe|European]] division, is based in [[Großostheim]], [[Germany]]. Nintendo has also founded iQue, Ltd. in [[Suzhou]], [[China]], a company that sells Nintendo products only in mainland China.

==See also==

{{commonscat|Nintendo}}

*[[History of computer and video games]]

*[[Nintendo Seal of Quality]]

*[[Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc.]]

*[[List of video games developed by Nintendo]]

*[[List of Nintendo characters]]

*[[List of Japanese companies]]

==References==

*[http://www.nintendo.com/corp/history.jsp Nintendo]. Retrieved Feb. 9, 2005.

*[http://n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=45 N-Sider]. Retrieved Feb.10, 2005.

*Anthony, JC. [http://n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=273&page=2 N-Sider 2]. Retrieved Feb.10, 2005.

*Liedhold, Marcus & Liedholm, Mattias. [http://nintendoland.com/home2.htm?history/index.htm Nintendo Land]. Retrieved Feb. 9, 2005.

*[http://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/compinfo/ForeignCompanyTearsheet.jhtml?cusip=6639550 Forbes]. Retrieved Feb. 9, 2005.

*[http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/41/41877.html Yahoo! Finance details for Nintendo Co, Ltd.] Retrieved Feb. 9, 2005.

*[http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/43/43619.html Yahoo! Finance details for Nintendo of America]. Retrieved Feb. 9, 2005.

*Casamassina, Matt. [http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=344&page=3 N-Sider]. Retrieved Mar. 18, 2005.

*McCullough, J.J.. [http://www.filibustercartoons.com/Nintendo.php Filibuster Cartoons]. Retrieved Feb. 9, 2005.

*[http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp Nintendo copyrights]. Retrieved Feb. 9, 2005.

*[http://www.nintendo.com/corp/annual_report.jsp Nintendo's annual financial report]. Retrieved July 29, 2005.

*[http://www.nintendo.com/global List of official Nintendo sites]. Retrieved October 9, 2005.

==External links=TV===

===Official sites===

*[http://www.nintendo.com/ Nintendo of America]

*[http://www.nintendo.ca/ Nintendo of Canada]

*[http://www.nintendo-europe.com/ Nintendo Europe]

*[http://www.nintendo.com.au/ Nintendo Australia]

*[http://www.theemperorbob.blogspot.com/ Emperor Bob]

*http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/ford_willa/artist.jhtml

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[[Category:1981 births|Ford, Willa]]

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*[http://articles.filefront.com/Purported_Revolution_Leak_Raises_Eyebrows_Doubts/;366;;;/article.html Purported Revolution Leak Raises Eyebrows, Doubts]

[[Category:Pop music|Ford, Willa]]

*[http://media.ds.ign.com/media/682/682837/vids_1.html The Nintendo Development Structure]

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*[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.04/nintendo.html?pg=1&topic= The Untold Story of Maniac Mansion] by Douglas Crockford.

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