About Nintendo

The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.7 billion video games and more than 470 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii and Nintendo DS, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Australia Inc., based in Victoria, serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in Australia.

Community Involvement

Nintendo Australia is an active and longstanding sponsor of the Starlight Children's Foundation, providing Nintendo consoles and games that can be wheeled to a child's bedside while they are in hospital. Nintendo characters and games gurus also visit children's hospitals nationally.

Nintendo also donates product to various sporting, leisure, not-for-profit and youth organisations nationally. We also have a team of Nintendo games gurus that support various events and organisations across the country, by staging Nintendo challenges.

Each year Nintendo also stages a variety of free national events involving the opportunity to sample the latest games across Wii and Nintendo DS. So far in 2008, Nintendo has hosted a national Wii Fit Tour, national Super Smash Bros shopping centre tour as well as product sampling at large scale events such as Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, Australian Open, Every Woman Expo in Perth and the Sydney Heath and Fitness Show.

Company History

Nintendo Entertainment System™

Introduced in 1985, the NES was an instant hit. Over the course of the next two years, it almost single-handedly revitalized the video game industry. Selling over 60 million units, people brought games like Mario and Zelda into their homes for the first time on the NES.

Game Boy™

The screen was four-colours-of-gray but the device defined portable gaming and was enormous fun. Game Boy, which came out in 1989, was closely associated with the classic game Tetris when it debuted. Game Boy is the most successful video game system ever released. Since its introduction in 1989, Game Boy has sold well over 150 million systems worldwide. Originally bundled with the game, Tetris, this little handheld became an instant phenomenon.

Super Nintendo ™ Entertainment System

The SNES was released in 1991 and featured 16-bit technology. More processing power meant more entertaining games which helped the SNES sell more than 49 million systems worldwide.

Nintendo® 64

The N64 set new standards in realistic 3D gaming when it came out in 1997. Super Mario 64 was the system's showcase game and thrilled millions with its amazing graphics and gameplay.

Game Boy™ Pocket

The same year the N64 came out, the Game Boy Pocket found its way into gamers' school backpacks all over the world. It was smaller than the original Game Boy and came in a variety of colours.

Game Boy™ Color

Game Boy Color, A little wonder, and a huge array of colour games brings a ravishing rainbow of over 32,000 possible colours to the bright 44 x 39mm screen, along with twice the processing power of its monochrome sibling.

Game Boy Advance™

Featuring a larger screen and better graphics than previous versions of the Game Boy, the GBA would go on to sell tens of millions of units worldwide after its debut in 2001.

Nintendo GameCube ™

2002 saw the release of the Nintendo GameCube which one-upped the graphics and gameplay of the N64. It was the first Nintendo system to use optical discs instead of cartridges for its games.

Game Boy Advance SP ™

Released in 2003, the Game Boy Advance SP had the same size screen as the Game Boy Advance, but the GBA SP was dramatically smaller, lighter, and folded in a clamshell design to become truly pocket portable. It also featured a rechargeable battery and backlit screen.

Nintendo DS ®

Released in 2005, featuring two screens, including a touch screen, a microphone, built-in Wi-Fi capability, and backward compatibility, the DS is an incredibly successful portable gaming device beating its rivals in the marketplace by a wide margin.

Nintendo DS ® Lite

The Nintendo DS is smaller, lighter, and has brighter screens than the previous model and has been embraced by fans. Tens of millions of DS Lites have sold worldwide since its release in 2006.

Wii ™

In 2006, Nintendo introduced the Wii and with it several advanced, revolutionary features - Wireless motion-sensitive remote controllers, built-in Wi-Fi capability, and a host of other features have made the Wii the best-selling latest generation console system in the world.