Nintendo have always been renowned as one of the most recognisable and iconic video game developers of all time.

The company has consistently achieved global success and fame, from the breakthrough hit of the ‘NES’ during the early 1980’s, to the motion-control boom of the ‘Wii’ throughout the 2000’s, all the way to their most recent and highest-selling home console ever, the ‘Nintendo Switch’.

The Japanese-based corporation have released more consoles than anyone else in the market, of which has been massively competitive for many decades.

However, when compared to the likes of Sony, Microsoft and even Sega for a time, Nintendo managed to not only stand out amongst the crowd, but evolve gaming itself in quirky but very enjoyable ways.

And with the Switch reaching the end of its life as the company’s active console, preparations are underway for Nintendo’s eighth brand-new video-game machine.

So, let us look back at Nintendo's illustrious history, which has provided millions of families and friends with some of the greatest consoles and games franchises ever!

Nintendo Entertainment System (NES - 1983)

The NES played 8-bit games and was designed for the home, as many wanted the experience of then commonly played arcade machines on their TV screens.

It was truly a phenomenon - easily becoming the best-selling console of its time, selling in excess of 61 million units.

Will Freeman is a gaming journalist from The Guardian, and he said: “The NES helped America recover from a video-game crash that happened in 1983, as too many home-consoles were being produced, and computers were becoming far more powerful.”

Because of this, the NES was originally marketed under the name of the Family Computer, or ‘Famicom’ in Japan, but was released as the NES in the States and Europe in September 1986.

Launch titles included the legendary Super Mario Bros, alongside Ice Climber, Duck Hunt and Pinball.

You could pick up a console with a copy of Super Mario Bros for $99 (£79.09), or a Deluxe Set, which included two games and several accessories for roughly £160.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES - 1990)

The SNES, whilst another fantastic home console by Nintendo, failed to surpass the 61 million NES’s sold, due to facing much tougher competition from Sega’s Genesis.

Sega's platform was released before the SNES, and captured the hearts and attitude of everyone living in the 1990’s, with the debut of company mascot and icon, Sonic the Hedgehog.

But, it was ultimately Nintendo's number of high-quality titles that saw it become the best-selling console of the 16-bit era, with 49 million units sold worldwide.

Will added: “The SNES did so well in making new franchises like Star Fox, F-Zero, Earthbound and others that were just as good, if not better, than sequels or re-imaginations of current Nintendo games, like Super Mario World and the Donkey Kong Country games!”

Nintendo 64 (N64 - 1996)

The Nintendo 64, released in late 1996, was another iconic and revolutionary home console that standardised how games in the third-dimension (3D) looked, played and controlled, due to the use of its 64-bit Central Processing Unit (CPU), which was deemed more powerful than competitors Sony with their 32-bit PlayStation One (PS1), and Sega’s 32-bit Sega Saturn.

It was Nintendo's last home console to require cartridges, which unfortunately was one of the console’s major downfalls.

CD’s were the hot-ticket item in the industry during this time, as you could not only store far more content and overall information onto them, but they were considerably cheaper to mass-produce, music sounded much better/cleaner, and were more common for developers to work with.

This was because the PS1 (1994) and Sega Saturn (1995) released much earlier than the N64, both using CD’s for their games.

The N64 cartridges in comparison cost considerably more to manufacture, and at the most, could store 64 mega-bytes (MB), whereas PS1 and Sega Saturn discs could hold roughly 600MB.

Rarely would a PS1 game exceed $50 at the time, whereas some N64 cartridges were $79.99 ($144), like the first print of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Not only were N64 games more expensive to buy, but also much harder for developers to create, as many had become accustomed to the 600MB discs, thus stunting the overall production of titles for the console.

However, the N64 was still the second-most popular of the generation, selling roughly 33 million units worldwide, largely due to the games that did manage to sell:

Will echoed this sentiment, saying “Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Goldeneye 007 alone are still regarded to this day as three of the best video games ever created - with each introducing concepts and ideas that transformed game development entirely!”

Nintendo GameCube (GCN - 2001)

Nintendo turned to the optical disc format for their fourth home console release, dubbed ‘GameCube’, but was up against even tougher competition from the previous generation.

Not only did Sony return with the PlayStation 2, but Microsoft entered the landscape with the original Xbox, alongside Sega’s Dreamcast.

Nintendo aimed to improve from their mistakes with the N64, by introducing 4MB-64MB memory cards for the system, allowing players to save their progress with more freedom.

The controller was altered from the three-grip model of the N64 to a two-handled one for the GameCube as well, which proved a much more comfortable and modern design.

Big Mario and Zelda titles made appearances on the GameCube, alongside fan-favourite ‘Super Smash Bros. Melee’, which saw the console sell well during its first year on the market, but it wasn’t good enough, as only 22 million GameCube’s were sold before being discontinued in 2007.

Not only did the Xbox sell more, with 24 million recorded before its discontinuation in 2006, but the PS2 sold over 158 million units.

Will added: “The PS2 did as well as it did because of its ability to act as a video-game console AND a DVD-player, by using regular discs. Nintendo made mini-discs for the GameCube, that had far less space than Xbox and PS2 games, and also meant the only thing the GameCube could do was play games.”

Nintendo Wii (2006)

Originally named ‘The Nintendo Revolution’, the Wii was Nintendo's fifth entry in the seventh generation of home consoles, going up against fearsome competition in the form of Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

Whilst many believed that Nintendo’s competitors made better-quality games with more-advanced hardware and thus better online multiplayer experiences, the console managed to unveil a ‘revolutionary’ gimmick that saw it become the best-selling console once again, with 101 million units shipped worldwide.

The Wii established motion-controlled gaming using the Wii Remote, which the console tracked surprisingly well in three-dimensional spaces.

Will spoke highly of the console too, adding: “The Wii’s motion controls and simplistic titles released, such as Wii Sports and Mario Kart Wii with the ‘Wii wheel’, hooked the casual market immediately, which made it the most iconic form of entertainment for families and friends everywhere!”

Nintendo Wii U (2012)

The Wii U was supposed to be a strong successor to the ever-popular Wii, but also Nintendo's answer to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The console was the first time Nintendo released their games in high-definition graphics (HD), and came bundled in alongside a new touchscreen controller, named the Wii U ‘GamePad’.

Initial reception to the Wii U was quite positive, but it came crumbling down fast, widely considered a failure by fans, critics and even Nintendo themselves, selling a measly 13 million units.

Lifelong Nintendo fan Alex Herron, 21, said: “The Wii U was not only under-powered, but was trying too hard to cling onto the success of the Wii, as most people at the time thought it was only an add-on or extension of the original system.”

Nintendo Switch (2017)

To conclude, we are now at present day with the Nintendo Switch, which was first released in March 2017.

It acts as both a handheld and home console, with a tablet-like screen that has two ‘joy-con’ controllers. These can be attached and/or de-attached from the side, or left with the screen at the docking station to charge the system, as well as allow regular play at home on a regular TV.

Not only was the console marketed and promoted much more clearly than the Wii U ever was, but Nintendo's first-party titles that launched with the system were massive for its success.

Both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey were released in March, receiving individual nominations for that year’s Game of the Year awards, alongside the popular remake that is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Other landmark titles such as Pokémon Sword and Shield, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Animal Crossing: New Horizons have sold over 25 million units each, with the latter sitting at 44 million worldwide.

As a result, the Switch has amassed roughly 140 million sales globally, easily ranking in the best-selling Nintendo home console of all time, as well as one of the best in all of gaming history itself.