Of all the brands on this list, perhaps Nintendo has one of the most logical progressions. Craftsman, Fusajiro Yamauchi, founded Nintendo to make and sell handmade Hanafuda cards from his shop in Kyoto. Hanafuda cards (or flower cards) are a type of playing card that can be used to play a number of different games – though most are fishing-related. From these analog beginnings, it took nearly a century before Nintendo started to get a foothold in the electronic gaming market, eventually becoming an internationally recognized brand. Despite the phenomenal success of its consoles and computer games, Nintendo has never completely abandoned its roots. They continue to make playing cards in Japan and tie their designs to their super successful game franchises, including Pokémon.
