In 1889, Fusajir??�� Yamauchi began manufacturing Hanafuda playing cards in Ky??��to, Japan under the brand name Nintendo. These decorative cards are divided into twelve suits, representing twelve months and depicted as flowers, and each has four cards. Around 1902 the firm began producing Western style playing cards as well. Throughout the decades that followed, the Nintendo firm branched out into production of different kinds of toys, gaming, and entertainment products, culminating in increasingly complex electronic gaming devices and finally in arcade games. The firm went on to become the largest video game company by revenue, although it still manufactures a small number of Hanafuda and Western style playing cards as well as the Pokemon trading card and collectible card game.
During the mid-twentieth century, Nintendo featured it?s Napol??��on brand of playing cards as bridge decks, and sponsored a bridge tournament, the Nintendo Cup. Collaboration with the Walt Disney Company resulted in Disney-character themed decks, which helped bring the firm back to financial solvency during Japan?s post-war recovery.