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Chapter 02 of 5

The Toymaker's Lab

From 'Love Testers' to 'Ultra Hands': Nintendo's quirky 1960s invention era.

  1. Pivot Point

    The Crisis of Cards

    By the 1960s, the Hanafuda card market saturated. Nintendo faced a decline and desperately needed a New World beyond paper.

  2. New Leadership

    Hiroshi's New Vision

    Third-generation president Hiroshi Yamauchi decided Nintendo shouldn't just be a card company—it should be an 'entertainment' company.

  3. Chance Encounter

    The Maintenance Man

    Gunpei Yokoi was hired to maintain card machines, but he spent his free time building gadgets that caught Yamauchi's eye.

17 more cards in this chapter

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What was Gunpei Yokoi’s influential design philosophy regarding technology?

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🍄 The Nintendo Company

  1. 01Hanafuda & HazardHow a handmade card company in 1889 Kyoto laid the groundwork for a giant.
  2. 02The Toymaker's LabFrom 'Love Testers' to 'Ultra Hands': Nintendo's quirky 1960s invention era.
  3. 03The Great ResetSaving the video game industry from the 1983 crash with the NES and Mario.
  4. 04The Blue Ocean StrategyHow the Wii and DS disrupted the 'Specs War' and changed who plays games.
  5. 05The Infinite PlaygroundThe Switch era, theme parks, and Nintendo’s future as a lifestyle brand.