Blog showcasing and celebrating Nintendo vintage toys and retro games from the period 1965-1983, including Love Tester, Ultra Hand, Ultra Machine, Ultra Scope, Light Gun series, Color TV Games, CTG-HC10 and Nintendo Block
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In the previous blog post we looked at Nintendo's business line of promotional playing cards , and zoomed in on a particular set from the 1960s as an example, for Japanese company Kanebo. And although playing cards were the main promotional item Nintendo produced, they created other types as well, based on a number of their existing toys. In today's post we will take a closer look at one of those…
Playing cards make ideal promotional items. They are small, relatively inexpensive, and, when made with high-quality materials, can still project a sense of quality and sophistication. Nintendo company brochure - mid 1950s One side of each card can be used for almost any message a company wants to convey: a product, a brand, or an eye-catching image, all printed in full color. And because playing…
A Long-Wanted Rarity, Finally Found Some of Nintendo’s past toys and games are much rarer than others. There are the big hits from the 1960s ( Ultra Hand , Ultra Machine ) that were produced in the millions, plenty of which survive to this day. Then there are the solid sellers, which are also not that hard to find for a collector who knows where to look. On the other end of the spectrum are games…
I regularly encounter people who are surprised to hear that Nintendo is still in the playing cards business today, although mainly in its home market of Japan. They know that the company started by making cards long ago, but assume this stopped after Nintendo joined the video game boom. The Nintendo product catalogue from August 2001 shown here, which is fully dedicated to playing cards,…
A Short Stop in Osaka Before Heading Home After the incredible days in Kyoto in the first week of October 2024—including two visits to the Nintendo Museum and many other memorable moments —we had one more day left before our flight home. As the airport is a little way south of Osaka, we decided to spend that last day in Japan's second-biggest city. While in Osaka, we had to visit Den-Den Town, of…
Meeting and Honoring Two Cornerstones from Nintendo’s Past Although our main objective in Kyoto was to attend the opening of the Nintendo Museum on Wednesday October 2nd, the entire week turned out to be filled with bonus moments. On Tuesday, we had already enjoyed time at Nintendo’s former headquarters and the founding Yamauchi family residence, now transformed into the Marufukuro hotel. Then on…
The Nintendo Museum - Final Hour of Our Visit After immersing ourselves in the main exhibits of the Nintendo Museum (see previous parts of this trip report here and here ), closing time approached—and one very important task remained: choosing what to buy at the museum store. As we left the interactive area on the lower floor, we passed through a corridor lined with display windows containing…
Touring the Nintendo Museum collection - Let’s Get (Inter)active After finishing our exploration of first part of the Nintendo Museum , we headed downstairs to the lower level. This section of the museum is dedicated to interactive exhibits—eight in total: Shigureden SP Ultra Machine SP Ultra Hand SP Love Tester SP Game & Watch SP Zapper & Scope SP Big Controller Nintendo Classics Along with the…
Opening day at the Nintendo Museum It is Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024. After months of waiting , and some very special moments the day before , we finally arrived at our main destination: the Nintendo Museum. The museum is just a short walk from Ogura Station in the southern part of Kyoto. From above, it’s easy to spot thanks in a large part to the massive question block painted on its roof. That…
Touchdown in Kyoto After months of anticipation , my Japan trip began on October 1st, 2024. And the very first day already brought a number of highlights. The direct flight from Amsterdam took thirteen hours to reach Kansai Airport in Osaka Bay. From there, a short train ride brought me to my destination for the week: Kyoto! With some time to spare before checking into my hotel, I headed to the…
