Tech Companies

Nintendo Co. Ltd.

Overview
Culture
Recruiting
Facts & Resources
Subsidiaries & Divisions
Competitors

JOB SEARCH TOOLS

Overview

Nintendo Co. Ltd. makes hardware and software for its video game systems, including the Wii console and DS portable game device. The Kyoto-based company has created a long list of iconic game franchises and characters including Pokémon, Mario, Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda.

Nintendo's DS portable game players have sold more than 125 million devices worldwide since the product debuted in 2004. The input and control devices the company created for its Wii system have helped revolutionize the home game market.

Its U.S. operation, Nintendo of America Inc., is based in Microsoft Corp.'s hometown of Redmond, Wash. Most of Nintendo's games are created in Japan, and the company says its in-house software development teams currently have enough projects to keep them busy for four to five years. Nintendo's Redmond campus revises games to make sure jokes and other cultural nuances translate to a U.S. audience.

In 2009 Nintendo dropped the price of its Wii console, hoping to counter the effects of the recession and expand the market for the popular device. In 2010, the company unveiled Nintendo 3DS, a 3D portable gaming device.

Culture

Nintendo opened a new state of the art building on its Redmond Campus in 2010. A directional system divides the 300,000-square-foot building into color-coded quadrants named after game characters Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi and Wario. The employee cafeteria is called Cafe Mario and the top-floor conference room is the Master Sword, a reference to the game Legend of Zelda. The eco friendly building has bamboo flooring and 75,000 square feet of plants on its roof.

The company is known for secrecy in protecting its intellectual property and frowns on blogging employees.

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata’s “Iwata Asks” series on the company’s Web site provides a good snapshot of how the company approaches game-making. In it, Iwata asks development staff the background and history behind some of Nintendo’s projects.

You can follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn. There is an unofficial Facebook page for Nintendo’s U.S. subsidiary.

Recruiting

In addition to standard tech questions, interviews will test your knowledge of game theory. The company also asks in-depth behavioral questions to make sure you fit its culture.