Nintendo Switch console

Nintendo is a pioneer in the global interactive entertainment industry, originally founded in Kyoto, Japan, in 1889 as a playing card manufacturer. Over the decades, it transitioned into electronics and became a household name with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the iconic Super Mario franchise.

The manufacturing of Nintendo products is primarily outsourced to major manufacturing hubs in East and Southeast Asia. While the majority of production historically occurred in China, Nintendo diversified its supply chain around 2019 to include assembly facilities in Vietnam to mitigate geopolitical risks and economic fluctuations.

Nintendo remains an independent Japanese corporation, publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It is not owned by a larger conglomerate, making it one of the few major platform holders in the gaming industry to maintain such corporate autonomy. The company continues to be headquartered in its historic birthplace of Kyoto, managing its global operations through subsidiaries like Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe.