10 Amazing Nintendo Products That AREN'T Video Games

10 Non-Video Game Related Nintendo Products

As much as we love our Marios and Zeldas and Pokemons, there was a time before all this when Nintendo made other awesome toys. What are some of your favorite things Nintendo has made that aren’t strictly video games? Let us know in the comments below.

#10: Super Mario Bros. Pinball (1992)

Ok, so we bent the rules a little bit; video game-themed products qualify. Super Mario Bros. Pinball is a product of its time, just like the game it’s themed after. Originally released in Spring of 1992, only roughly 4,000 of these were made, and was the first machine made by Gottlieb to feature the dot-matrix display. You may know this nowadays as the little screen that keeps track of your score near the coin slot. History aside, this addictive classic pinball machine features nostalgic art of all your favorite Mushroom Kingdom heroes, familiar music, and awesome light-up effects.

#9: Light Telephone (1971)

This weird contraption is one of the earliest ideas from Gunpei Yokoi, producer on many of our favorite video game franchises and creator of the original Game Boy. Available only in Japan, this adult-centered piece of technological history was a two-way walkie talkie that emitted sound through light instead of radio waves. I don’t get it either. But! It worked, and although it wasn’t new technology even for the time, Nintendo offering such an odd, unique gizmo just goes to show the breadth of pies they had their fingers in.

#8: R.O.B. (1985)

The Robotic Operating Buddy, or R.O.B. for short, was initially designed as a substitute for a second player for the NES titles Stack-Up and Gyromite (especially useful if you don’t have friends, poor you). How it worked is you’d give R.O.B. commands as you played, then he’d either stack the round pegs in the right place, or raise and lower platforms, depending on the game you’re playing. It didn’t last long on store shelves, but its legacy is obvious; R.O.B. is a playable character in other Nintendo games like Mario Kart DS and later Super Smash Bros. titles.

#7: Love Tester (1969)

Another Gunpei Yokoi joint, the Love Tester is one of the earliest Nintendo products to be sold outside of Japan, and is actually the first of their products to utilize electronic components. Neat! Advertised as a love detector, two people would operate either end, and the machine would try to measure how much they loved each other. Of course, like the love I have for Nintendo’s weird decisions like this, this bond is naturally immeasurable. Instead, it determined the conductivity between the two users. This contraption also featured as an Easter egg heavily throughout Nintendo’s history, appearing in games like WarioWare: Twisted and Pikmin 2.

#6: Ultra Machine (1967)

Knock knock. Who’s there? That's right, it's Gunpei Yokoi again. The Ultra Machine is part of a trio of products, including the Ultra Scope and Ultra Hand (more on that shortly). It’s no secret that baseball is huge in Japan, and Nintendo wanted to profit off that. Enter: The Ultra Machine. This is essentially an at-home batting cage. The Ultra Machine launches small, softer baseballs, making it the perfect toy for kids trying to work on their swing. If you’re lucky enough to check out the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, you’ll have the opportunity to use the Ultra Machine and hit dingers all day.

#5: Ultra Hand (1966)

No, not that Ultra Hand, but we wouldn’t be surprised if this is what inspired Link’s new power in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Mr. Yokoi struck gold with the Ultra Hand, his first ever toy with Nintendo, after then-president Hiroshi Yamauchi saw he had made one for fun and ordered it to be mass-produced. A blue, plastic extending arm that would be right at home in an Inspector Gadget episode, the Ultra Hand is one of Nintendo’s first massively successful products before their foray into video games. And just like almost everything else on this list, it had a lasting impact on the Big N’s games years later.

#4: Hanafuda Cards (Various)

Hanafuda, or “flower cards” in English, were Nintendo’s original bread-and-butter since its founding in 1889. Even now, the video game titan still manufactures these, and they sell like hotcakes. These are used to play a handful of different games, like Koi-Koi and Mushi, and often depict unique designs on the back using plants and animals - this is where they got the inspiration for familiar Super Mario Bros. icons like the fire flower or Piranha Plant. Like the Ultra Machine and Ultra Hand, hanafuda cards are a big focus at the Nintendo Museum, letting visitors make their own and bring them home as a souvenir.

#3: LEGO Sets (Various)

A personal favorite, LEGO is not only known for their timeless original themes, but their license agreements with properties like Star Wars, Marvel, and, of course, Nintendo. What’s neat about these is that they have products for kids and adults alike - modular playsets and figures that make sounds are for the youngin’s, while adults get awesome intricate display models of stuff like an NES and CRT TV or the Great Deku Tree from the Legend of Zelda. A big deterrent for many is the price tag, but if you can get your hands on some of these sets, you’re in for a fun night in. I’m eager to pick up the Mario and Yoshi set, myself.

#2: The Legend of Zelda Manga (Various)

Nintendo has partnered with numerous entities over the years to publish manga based on almost every mainline Legend of Zelda title, including American comics giant Valiant and popular localizer Viz Media. Dark Horse Comics even gave us Hyrule Historia and other supplemental books. Ranging from Twilight Princess to Oracles of Seasons and Ages, the pages of these manga are vibrant and extremely well done, and tell the stories of their respective games flawlessly. Manga isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the Legend of Zelda series is great for newcomers to the medium.

#1: Alarmo (2024)

Released just two months prior to the making of this video, Nintendo’s Alarmo is the latest in its long line of “what the f**k?” products. Costing a staggering 100 US dollars and only available to My Nintendo rewards members, this glorified alarm clock comes with a wide array of soundbites and music from the entirety of Nintendo’s game library you can choose from to wake you up. It also tracks your movements, so when it detects you waking up from the initial alarm, it gets louder. It’s designed to help regulate sleep patterns, but as a certified napper, I’m not sure this is for me. I’m not sure it’s for anyone, really.

What do you think of our picks? Did you have any of these awesome products growing up? Let us know in the comments.