Nintendo has Yakuza to thank for initial success

Sabre0001

...and not the game franchise.

Hopefully this is of interest to the general gaming community. Interesting - although short - video from Eurogamer, which links Nintendo's initial success (before it delved into video games) to the Yakuza who couldn't get enough of the cards that Nintendo was developing at the time.

Gamasutra wrote:

According to the most recent video in the website's weekly Here’s a Thing series, Nintendo might never have been in a position to break into video game development if the Yakuza hadn’t taken an interest in their playing cards.

And while this tale isn't directly related to the company's game development efforts, the story told in the above video still offers an interesting look at the unconventional origins of one of the most iconic game companies out there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tazDODUuq4k

Retr0gamer

This is kind of like the ET garbage dump excavation. This isn't something new and has been not only wildly known for a long time but extensively documented. The Yakuza preferred Nintendo's cards for their gambling leading to higher sales.