BOOK REVIEW: “NINTENDO: The Game-Changing Company That Unlocked the Power of Play” by Keza MacDonald
SUPER NINTENDO: The Game-Changing Company That Unlocked the Power of Play by Keza MacDonald examines the driving force behind Nintendo’s creativity as it takes its readers on a wondrous tour, game by game, through its past, present, and future. The book comes just in time for the 40-year anniversary of Zelda, the 30-year anniversary of Pokemon, and the release of a second Mario movie in 2026. In 2025 alone, Nintendo broke sales records with the Switch 2 launch and opened a new theme park in Florida’s Universal Studios.
This book covers everything from Mario to Metroid and from the Wii to Famicom. Anyone familiar with Nintendo will be delighted to encounter and learn more about their favorite games and characters, along with the underlying design and business decisions that underpinned each release.
The game company began in 1889 as a Japanese playing card company whose tile cards were closely associated with gambling and Japan’s criminal underworld. Nintendo sold instant rice, board games, and baby strollers before landing on video games. MacDonald documents the company’s transformation into a powerhouse entertainment company.
Over the years Nintendo introduced many technologies, many that can be taken for granted, from touch-screen gaming with the DS, the analogue controller stick, game saves, and mobile cameras. Mario was the first game character to ever jump!
SUPER NINTENDO is full of stories around the design of iconic consoles and games. For example, Mario’s iconic mustache and hat were added to his character design not as bold fashion statements but to save designers from drawing a mouth and hair.
MacDonald assesses Nintendo’s business strategies, discussing the company’s commitment to offering hardware and software, its approach to fast-paced technological developments in the industry, and how Nintendo has survived unprofitable years. She also explores the company culture and how employees collaborate and playtest new releases, discussing how Nintendo sees itself as a toy company first, not a technology company.
Through the likes of Mario, Pikachu, Zelda, Kirby, Donkey Kong, etc., Nintendo’s iconic characters, systems, and video games have captured the hearts of hundreds of millions of people around the globe. From an unassuming playing card company founded in 1889 Kyoto, Nintendo has grown into a dominant cultural force of the 21st century, redefining the entertainment industry with each new release.
This hardcover book is a must-read for hard-core gamers as it paints a vivid picture of the most important company that produces video games.
* * * * *
About the author: Keza MacDonald is video games editor at The Guardian, where she writes the “Pushing Buttons” newsletter. Having previously held editorial roles at IGN and Kotaku, two of the biggest specialist games websites in the world, she is also the co-author of You Died: The Dark Souls Companion with Jason Killlingsworth and regularly appears on television and radio as a video games expert.