Yeah, that surprised me the first time I heard it. I'd never had imagined Nintendo began as a manufacturer of traditional hanafuda playing cards..

There's a wonderful "NES History" document on GameSpy talking about how Nintendo became one of the video game industry leaders. Here's the link http://www.gamespy.com/articles/july03/famicom/index.shtml . I recommend it, it's a must-a-read!!