The Origin Story of the Name “Nintendo”

Nintendo started as a playing card company by Fusajiro Yamauchi, who saw an opportunity to enter into a market with universal appeal. The name Nintendo means 'leave luck to heaven' and was a reference to gambling and casinos, which were illegal at the time. The company became the largest playing card manufacturer in Japan, despite strict efforts to eliminate Western influence from Japanese society. Hanafuda cards, a substitute parallel track to the Western deck, had four seasons and was used for games of gambling. Finally, after the Meiji Restoration, the government removed the official ban on playing cards, allowing Nintendo to legally produce Hanafuda cards.

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