Super Nintendo: How One Japanese Company Helped The World Have Fun by Keza MacDonald is a thorough look at the gaming juggernaut which started its life - in the late 19th Century - as a playing card company and has evolved into one of the most iconic worldwide brands.
MacDonald knits her book together by introducing us to Nintendo's main players behind games like Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda all the way through to some of the modern products and games like Nintendo Labo and the Splatoon series.
I can genuinely say I learned a lot from Super Nintendo. Even though it was quite an obvious thing in hindsight, I wasn't aware of the story about Universal Pictures - owners of the King Kong property - attempting to sue Nintendo for the likenesses used in 1981's Donkey Kong.
My eyes were opened further, a little later in the book, when I learned that the pink game character Kirby (my youngest nephew's favourite Nintendo character, by the way!) is named after John Kirtby - the attorney who successfully defended Nintendo in Universal City Studios, Inc .vs. Nintendo Co. Ltd.
With over twenty years working as a games journalist, MacDonald is unquestionably one of the most appropriate persons who can tell the story of Nintendo. She was able to introduce quotes from Nintendo's major names she was able to meet through her career.
There's more, however.
Some parts of MacDonald's book details her own experiences with Nintendo as a consumer. I found there to be a fair balance between telling the story of Nintendo and peeling the curtain back to share her own stories as a player. It's from those anecdotes the writer allows us to see her as one of us: fans having fun.
If you enjoy Nintendo products in any way, I urge you to see this out once it has been published.
Thank you to Net Galley and Faber for giving me an advance reading copy of this title.
Super Nintendo: How One Japanese Company Helped The World Have Fun by Keza MacDonald is set to be published on February 12th 2026. You can preorder a copy from Amazon UK by following the affiliate link below.
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