Nintendo, once tightly focused on video games, has expanded its reach in recent years by turning its beloved characters into a broader cultural phenomenon. The company is now aiming to capture the attention of non-gamers through theme parks, toys, and media ventures.

This shift in strategy has been building for a decade, and even Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto describes Nintendo today as a “talent agency” for its iconic characters. The company recently unveiled a Donkey Kong-themed area at Universal Studios Japan, part of an expanding Nintendo zone that has become a major tourist attraction. This follows the opening of the first Nintendo museum in Kyoto and the success of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, which became 2023’s second-highest grossing film. A sequel is already planned for 2026, along with a movie based on The Legend of Zelda.

Historically, Nintendo was much more conservative about venturing outside the realm of video games. The company, founded in 1889 in Kyoto as a playing card producer, avoided over-commercializing its intellectual property for decades. This cautious approach was exacerbated by a failed attempt in the 1990s when a live-action Mario movie bombed at the box office, which led to a long period of hesitance toward non-gaming ventures.

Nintendo’s fortunes began to shift with the release of the Wii and DS consoles, designed to attract non-gamers and eventually becoming two of the company’s best-selling products. However, after the Nintendo 64 and GameCube underperformed, the company expanded its focus even further. Today, it has embraced collaborations with external creators for film and merchandise ventures, allowing its characters, like Mario and Pikachu, to appear in toys, sweets, and other consumer products.

This approach mirrors that of Disney, but while Disney often acquires and develops franchises, Nintendo builds its own brand, starting with games and then branching out. The Pokémon franchise, initially a Nintendo game, now spans movies, cards, and a massive merchandise empire, inspiring Nintendo to push its own franchises into similar territory.

With game and console sales still representing over 90% of Nintendo’s revenue, these character-driven ventures offer a way to attract more customers and potentially boost console sales by appealing to a broader audience, including those who may have never played Nintendo games.