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Nintendo's Forgotten Product Lines

Traditional Playing Cards

by Danny Bivens - November 26, 2013, 6:34 pm EST

Mario isn't plastered over everything Nintendo makes!

Nintendo has been selling traditional playing cards, simply known as trump in Japanese, for years. Before the days of Mario and other iconic Nintendo mascots, most sets were pretty standard, although Nintendo at one point did have access to Disney characters which they used to help drive sales of their products. Nowadays, Nintendo continues to sell these cards and occasionally even releases new sets based on Nintendo characters and series. There are a number of styles that the company sells all for pretty reasonable prices, usually between about 600 to 1,000 yen ($6 - $10 USD). Here’s a complete look at all of the variations of playing cards that the company currently sells. 

NAP (Nintendo All Plastic) 600 Series

All decks in the series run for 630 yen each (about $6.30 USD).


NAP 800 Series

All decks in the series run for 840 yen each (about $8.40 USD).


NAP 1000 Series

All decks in the series run for 1,050 yen (about $10.50 USD).

Original Design

Nintendo even offers the option to create your very own originally designed cards. Three options are available for card design - a custom back, custom ace of spades and joker, or a fully customized deck. There are a variety of card cases to choose from and you can even have a sleeve made as well. While the prices were not listed on Nintendo’s website, it appears that interested parties have to order at least 1,000 sets or 500,000 yen (about $5,000 USD) worth of cards. So if you just have the kind of money sitting around and are confident in your Japanese abilities, go ahead and give them a call and order some!


Choose your option...


and your case...


Sleeve or no sleeve.

Note: The exchange rate at the time of writing was roughly $1 USD = 100 yen.

Images

Talkback

azekeNovember 26, 2013

I recommend "History of Nintendo" books by Pix'n'Love if you're interested in that kind of stuff. Lots of information about Nintendo's products before they entered videogames, highly fascinating stuff.

That sounds awesome! I'll have to be sure to check it out!

azekeNovember 27, 2013

Just make sure you handle books with care. Binding isn't all that good in first two volumes -- i have first book with few pages literally falling from it.

Also i heard complaints that english translation isn't all that good (english being my third language, i honestly can't tell), so if you're fluent in French -- you might want to check out books in original French.

I'm going through the first volume in French, it's good stuff!

Towards the end, it almost becomes a catalog of old Nintendo toys, but there are still fun facts to be learned. For instance, I didn't expect to see that the Game Boy's Game Link cable had a predecessor... in 1982. For Nintendo's Yakuman portable electronic Mah-jong game!

CericNovember 27, 2013

I was expecting something more to tell you the truth.  I mean I didn't know all the variations of play cards they have but I did know they made all those cards.  I also knew they made a lot of what would be thought of as traditional Japanese games.  I was sort of hoping to find out they made bikes or an action figure line not related to any of their game properties.  Lego like things.  You know something that just makes you go "Oh that is a toy."

Damn Nintendo for disappointing us!  :P

I seriously want to get one of Hyakunin Isshu sets. To play a competitive game all by myself. Woo?!

Quote from: Ceric

I was expecting something more to tell you the truth.  I mean I didn't know all the variations of play cards they have but I did know they made all those cards.  I also knew they made a lot of what would be thought of as traditional Japanese games.  I was sort of hoping to find out they made bikes or an action figure line not related to any of their game properties.  Lego like things.  You know something that just makes you go "Oh that is a toy."

You mean exactly like this?

They made plenty of toys, of board games, of little "travel size" toys, electronic toys. They had their own designs, and they licensed toys and games from other companies for sale in Japan as well.

CericNovember 27, 2013

Quote from: Pandareus

Quote from: Ceric

I was expecting something more to tell you the truth.  I mean I didn't know all the variations of play cards they have but I did know they made all those cards.  I also knew they made a lot of what would be thought of as traditional Japanese games.  I was sort of hoping to find out they made bikes or an action figure line not related to any of their game properties.  Lego like things.  You know something that just makes you go "Oh that is a toy."

You mean exactly like this?

They made plenty of toys, of board games, of little "travel size" toys, electronic toys. They had their own designs, and they licensed toys and games from other companies for sale in Japan as well.

Yes, I'm fairly sure We've posted those before but, yes.  Only still making.

sehrgutDecember 06, 2013

They actually still manufacture harifuda cards for tehonbiki as well. Only the Daitōryō are available, and they're sold without the nice plastic case the hanafuda and kabufuda come in: they're just the inner paperboard box.

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