The Nintendo Logo

Nintendo is a multinational video game corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. It has offices all over the world.

Founded in September 1883, it actually originated as a producer of handmade playing cards known as Hanafuda cards, before dabbling in other toys, and eventually video games.

It soon developed into a dedicated video game company, and became one of the most influential and successful in the industry.

Nowadays, Nintendo is widely recognised worldwide. It is the oldest company in the video games industry and one of the most influential, as well as the third most valuable company in Japan.

History

Nintendo’s current logo dates back to the 1980s. The logo has not been altered very often; the font and shape have remained roughly the same throughout its various iterations. The colour of the letters and background has changed several times; such as silver, or red upon a black background in a handful of products.

Although Nintendo is such a big name in the video games industry, it still prefers to have a simple and comprehensible logo, that is recognisable for a number of reasons:◦ Its distinctive shade of red, for grabbing attention and ensuring that the logo is remembered.

Bold colours like red often have a strong impact on how the viewer perceives it. In a way, the colour can be seen as representing the company’s vitality and popularity.

◦ The distinctive, highlighted font that makes the logo stand out amidst many other stylish logos, and manages to make it memorable, while still associating it with the company.

◦ The shape, which features the company name encircled by a capsule shape, is friendly, familiar and thus does not have any particular connotations to it. However, it still gives a sense a professionalism, as the logo has managed to be so simple, and yet so memorable.

Logo

Marketing The Nintendo logo appears in all sorts of places. From typical

advertisements in magazines to television or internet viral campaigns, the logo has been expertly marketed to captivate the viewer and generate interest in Nintendo’s products.

Super Mario, one of Nintendo’s most recognised and loved characters, is widely considered to be the face of Nintendo. In the image below he is seen performing his trademark jump beneath the Nintendo logo – a reference to his actions in his immensely popular video games. In doing this, Nintendo are re-iterating themselves as the creator of Mario, so that people may associate the company with the famous character.