The Nintendo Koppai company focused on gaming of a different sort when it was founded. In the late 1800s its founder Fusajiro Yamauchi made playing cards, just recently un-banned in the country. The company grew into a corporate giant, but almost crashed with failed attempts to branch out into other avenues. Around that time Yamauchi saved the company with the launch of a new product, a toy based an extendable arm used by one of his factory engineers. By the 70s toys became electronic, and then were combined with the company’s gaming legacy to make electronic video games.

On this day, July 15, in 1985, the Nintendo Entertainment System went on sale in Japan. It was based off a previous console called FamiCom, for Family Computer, that initially sold well – about half a million units – but then found to freeze up due to a faulty chip.

In October of that same year a few NES consoles appeared in New York, as part of a test run. The bad news was, a glut of poorly-made low-quality video games turned public opinion against the industry, wiping it out nearly completely two years prior. The good news for Nintendo was they had the entire North American market to themselves.