Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and manufactures both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began in 1889 when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi founded the company to produce handmade hanafuda playing cards. After venturing into various lines of business and becoming a public company, Nintendo began producing toys in the 1960s, and later video games.
All following Nintendo-owned licensed games were created as part of various Nintendo Game Seminars held from 2005 to 2010. These seminars were designed to teach students how to develop games by having them work in groups to create their own titles. Nintendo published these games through DS Download Stations in Japan. Games from seminars held before 2005 were never released, while those from after 2010 were made available on the Wii U eShop. Additionally, the 2009 and 2010 games were also downloadable via the Wii's Minna no Nintendo Channel and Nintendo Zones, alongside DS Download Stations.
Due to the backward compatibility of the Nintendo Switch 2, the vast majority of the Nintendo Switch library is playable on the system.<br/> Certain titles, however, have received updated versions optimized for Nintendo Switch 2 hardware. These updates may include visual enhancements, improved frame rates, and support for additional control features, such as mouse functionality.<br/> These releases are divided into two categories. The first consists of âÂÂSwitch 2 Editionâ titles, which are available as standalone physical releases for Nintendo Switch 2 and may also be obtained as paid upgrades via the Nintendo eShop by owners of the original Nintendo Switch version. Some editions may include new exclusive DLC.<br/> The second category includes free updates, which enhance existing Nintendo Switch titles when played on Nintendo Switch 2 without requiring a separate purchase.
Since May 15, 2014, Hamster Corporation has been developing and publishing a series of arcade game ports for modern consoles under the name Arcade Archives. Several Nintendo arcade games were ported to the Nintendo Switch between September 27, 2017, and December 18, 2020.
There have been several commercially released video games officially licensed to use Nintendo-owned intellectual properties without the company or one of its subsidiaries being involved in the game's production or distribution.