playingcards – Set Side B https://setsideb.com The Flipside of Gaming Fri, 24 Apr 2026 03:42:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://setsideb.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-mascot512-32x32.png playingcards – Set Side B https://setsideb.com 32 32 Nintendo’s Custom Playing Card Service https://setsideb.com/nintendos-custom-playing-card-service/ https://setsideb.com/nintendos-custom-playing-card-service/#respond Fri, 24 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0000 https://setsideb.com/?p=12083 Continue reading "Nintendo’s Custom Playing Card Service"]]> Nintendo got its start making playing cards, and, incredibly, still makes playing cards to this day. I guess there’s always money in the banana stand.

A service Nintendo offered, and even more incredibly still offers, is to make customized playing cards for people, anyone, although the stated purpose is to promote products. The blog beforemario tells all about the service, and even links to Nintendo’s page where you too can order custom playing cards, and all you have to do is order them in a batch of at least 3,000 decks, oh and also navigate through the entirely-Japanese order site. Or you could just buy non-customized cards, some with Nintendo character art.

Lest the domain name not convince you that this is the same Nintendo, one of the example decks pictured uses Pikachu in its art (along with the appropriate copyright notices, as Nintendo doesn’t actually own the Pokémon characters).

beforemario has mentioned before that Nintendo still runs a large sideline in making traditional Japanese gaming equipment like Go and Shogi sets, or Chinese Mah Jong sets.

]]> https://setsideb.com/nintendos-custom-playing-card-service/feed/ 0 Before Mario Visits the Nintendo Museum https://setsideb.com/before-mario-visits-the-nintendo-museum/ Thu, 26 Dec 2024 15:00:00 +0000 https://setsideb.com/?p=9030 Before Mario is a Blogspot blog (remember them?) devoted to Nintendo’s company history before they made video games. Well, their December 13th post doesn’t fit that bill entirely, since the museum is quite new, but they did focus on those aspects on display that don’t deal with their freakishly popular electronic products.

Nintendo got their start making playing cards (images from Before Mario)
Er, so we’re consuming Kirby’s plastic bottled regurgitation?

]]> A Stay At Nintendo’s Original Headquarters https://setsideb.com/five-nights-at-freddys-comes-to-arcades/ Thu, 04 Apr 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://setsideb.com/?p=7199 Continue reading "A Stay At Nintendo’s Original Headquarters"]]>
The site. Image from beforemario.

When I say original headquarters it’s really original: the building they started out of in the late 1800s as a maker of playing cards! I like to mix up the content here and include some history when I can amidst all the gaming geekery. The building has been restored and is now a fairly small and cozy hotel! The stay is recorded on the blog beforemario, with many many photographs.

Nintendo has still been a playing card company for quite a while longer than it’s been a video game company, and while there are some artifacts contributed by the founding Yamauchi family recognizing their game products, mostly it’s a pretty chill hotel, haunted no doubt by friendly and playful ghosts. And they serve food! Have a look.

An early product of Nintendo was a set of playing cards with a Napoleon theme. beforemario wrote about those too!
]]> News 8/23/22: Falcom, DLC, Playing Cards, Shipping https://setsideb.com/news-8-23-22-falcom-dlc-playing-cards-shipping/ Tue, 23 Aug 2022 22:00:00 +0000 https://setsideb.com/?p=1951 Continue reading "News 8/23/22: Falcom, DLC, Playing Cards, Shipping"]]>

“We scour the Earth web for indie, retro, and niche gaming news so you don’t have to, drebnar!” – your faithful reporter

News posts has been light lately. I’ve been worried I’ve been starting to congeal. Even alien blob creatures get older. Well let’s go with what we have–

Kerry Brunskill at PC Gamer breaks the news about Startrader, a shmup made by Falcom for the PC 98. Falcom was mostly known for its classic and unique RPGs, while the PC 98 was mostly known for its erotic anime-styled games that could somehow make full-color pictures (yes, often of naked women) often with only 16 colors and a whole lot of dithering. Startrader went against both the RPG and eroge trends, but still managed to host some amazing artwork.

How did they do that in 16 colors?

At NintendoLife, Kate Gray suggests 3DS and Wii U DLC you should get, if you can, before their eShops shut down. Games discussed include Fantasy Life, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Spirit of Justice and Dual Destinies, the many songs of Threatrhythm Final Fantasy and its Curtain Call sequel, and Fire Emblem Fates.

Kotaku’s Luke Plunkett brings us a sad story of a couple of packs of Nintendo playing cards from the 50s, that were bought at auction but, once opened, turned out to have been ruined by age. The arrow of time is one-way, sad to say. Ow, my nucleus!

And it’s not game related, but a friend-of-the-blog suggests, from Benj Edwards at How-To Geek, this guide for shipping fragile electronics.

]]>