Blog and book about Nintendo toys and games from 1889 to the early 1980s; from before Mario.
(+ occasional transgression into things more recent)
beforemario.com
Beforemario
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I opened an old stock, unused, mint PC Engine CD-ROM² and interface unit from 1988
Pristine!
Nintendo vintage commercial jingles are like, extremely catchy...
For instance: Nintendo Paper Model from the 1970s
Latest addition arrived today: vintage Nintendo glass showcase for shops
Admirable packing skills were applied for a safe intercontinental journey
This is a great story, told in a very well produced video!
A real hit!
Some auction results I spotted... (I was neither seller nor buyer, just observing)
Nintendo micro hanafuda ¥67,200 (US$420)
Vintage Nintendo shipping box (empty) ¥83,200 (US$520)
Game & Watch shop display (unused) ¥92,200 (US$575)
Game Boy Pocket and playing cards set ¥244,456 (US$1525)
In the 1970s Nintendo made a promotional variant of its (Hasbro licensed) Mach Rider toy, called Dash Rider (ダッシュライダー).
Full story here: blog.beforemario.com/2026/04/nint...
Nintendo vintage playing cards, 1950s
Nice scene on this Japanese postcard depicting "Girls playing flower cards" (Hanafuda), sent in 1903 to a Japanese diplomat in Belgium
amiibo wave incoming ...
And me thinking that Sora back in 2024 would the Swan Song
Absolute favorite: Elephant Mario
One of Nintendo's rarest early consoles: the Nintendo Computer TV Game (コンピュータ TV ゲーム) from 1980 just sold for 207,000 yen in okay(ish) condition, without box
How many of you out there are looking for one?
Hi folks! Last year I came into possession of some film reels from Wild Gunman (1974) by Nintendo, and felt it was my destiny to play the game.
youtube.com/watch?v=TOfq...
