Nintendo operated for nearly a century without major commercial success until Shigeru Miyamoto created Donkey Kong in 1981. The arcade game's popularity prompted Nintendo to develop home consoles, first the Famicom in Japan and then the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1985, fundamentally reshaping the company's global footprint.

Donkey Kong established the platformer video game genre and introduced the character that would evolve into Mario, now one of entertainment's most recognizable figures. The game's influence extended beyond its immediate commercial success—it convinced consumers to purchase multiple Nintendo consoles and inspired technical innovations like the D-pad when Nintendo adapted the title for handheld devices, ultimately establishing Nintendo's dominance in the video game industry.