A gaming franchise surviving (and thriving) for nearly 40 years is super impressive, and the Mario franchise has done exactly that, reaching new audiences now with even more spinoffs in the form of a huge Hollywood movie. Mario, Luigi, and the whole gang are brilliant examples of how gaming has evolved in the last 40 years and go to show how technology has moved on, but the concept of a good game being a good game will never change – people still love the original games.
Nintendo’s Evolution From Card Games to Huge Titles
You’d be forgiven for thinking Nintendo’s rise came from early consoles through to the current generation, but this isn’t the whole story and people are often shocked to hear the Japanese gaming giants started making card games.
Hanafuda, an old game that originated in Japan, was the initial focus of Nintendo back in the 1800s (yes, you read that right) and the company eventually saw the potential of video games and pivoted to this area.
Maybe it shouldn’t surprise us, as plenty of games that are now played online and that use digital interfaces actually started hundreds of years ago. Poker has followed the same trajectory, and though it was originally played with physical cards, the digital age has changed poker, allowing people to play online through a simple interface and watch the cards fall on their screen rather than on a physical table.
Aspects of poker are different now when played online, and it is easier for players to follow the poker industry and develop a poker strategy based on other players, tips, and even YouTube channels and blogs about the game.