# Nintendo > Nintendo is the Japanese company behind the NES, Game Boy, Wii and Switch. Almost all of its consoles have been emulated in some form. Web page: https://emulationking.com/nintendo/ Page updated: 2026-09-26 Nintendo is a Japanese video game company based in Kyoto. It is best known for consoles such as the Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Nintendo DS, Wii and Switch, but its roots go back to 1889, when it began producing handmade playing cards. Nintendo's first step into video games came in 1974, when it obtained the rights to distribute the Magnavox Odyssey console in Japan. Three years later it began making its own hardware with the Color TV-Game series; the first model played six variations of a single tennis game, Light Tennis. Its first major success in the games industry came in 1980 with the Game & Watch, a line of handhelds that each had one game built into the hardware, unlike Nintendo's later handhelds, which used interchangeable cartridges. Over the following decades Nintendo built a reputation for popular franchises and hugely successful consoles. In 1983 Nintendo released the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan, followed in 1985 by its international version, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The console launched alongside ports of Nintendo's arcade games, and bundling Super Mario Bros. with the system helped make it one of the best-selling video games of all time. ## Consoles - [Nintendo Switch](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/switch/index.md): The Nintendo Switch is Nintendo's 2017 hybrid console, played docked on a TV or as a handheld. Its main emulators, Yuzu and Ryujinx, both shut down in 2024. - [Nintendo Wii U](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/wiiu/index.md): The Wii U is Nintendo's 2012 successor to the Wii. It sold poorly, but its games can now be played in Cemu, an open source emulator that runs most of them. - [Nintendo 3DS](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/3ds/index.md): The Nintendo 3DS is Nintendo's glasses-free 3D successor to the DS. Once thought too hard to emulate, it is now well supported by Citra and its forks. - [Nintendo Wii](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/wii/index.md): The Nintendo Wii brought motion controls to a wide casual audience and became a huge success. Dolphin emulates it almost perfectly. - [Nintendo DS](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/nds/index.md): The Nintendo DS is Nintendo's dual-screen, touchscreen successor to the Game Boy Advance and one of its best-selling systems. It is well emulated today. - [Game Boy Advance](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/gba/index.md): Nintendo's Game Boy Advance succeeded the Game Boy Color in 2001 and sold over 81 million units. GBA emulators now cover almost every feature of the system. - [Nintendo GameCube](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/gamecube/index.md): The Nintendo GameCube was Nintendo's first disc-based console, with a library of acclaimed games. Dolphin can run nearly all of them, often in HD. - [Pokémon Mini](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/pokemonmini/index.md): The Pokémon Mini is a tiny 2001 Nintendo handheld with a monochrome screen, rumble, a shock sensor and infrared. It had only a handful of games. - [Game Boy Color](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/gbc/index.md): The Game Boy Color, Nintendo's 1998 successor to the Game Boy, added a colour screen while staying compatible with the original Game Boy library. - [Nintendo 64](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/n64/index.md): The Nintendo 64 (N64) was Nintendo's third home console, released in 1996. Its classics include Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time and GoldenEye 007. - [Virtual Boy](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/virtualboy/index.md): The Virtual Boy is Nintendo's 1995 3D console with a red monochrome display. A commercial failure, it was only sold in Japan and North America. - [SNES / Super Famicom](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/snes/index.md): The Super Nintendo is Nintendo's 16-bit successor to the NES and the best-selling console of its generation. It is one of the most thoroughly emulated systems. - [NES / Famicom](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/nes/index.md): The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit console that revived the video game industry after the 1983 crash. Its library is almost perfectly emulated. - [Game & Watch](https://emulationking.com/nintendo/gameandwatch/index.md): Game & Watch is Nintendo's line of handheld LCD games, launched in 1980. Each unit played one or two built-in games and doubled as a clock.