The Ultra Hand
Photo credit: beforemario.com
The Ultra Hand might not sound like much, but it was a big deal for Nintendo. It was one of those extendable toy claws you can use to grab things, sort of like that stick you use to reach things at Walmart when you don’t feel like getting off your scooter. And believe it or not, it saved the company in the late 1960s.
Nintendo sold more than a million of these things, right at a point when their stocks were dive-bombing straight into bankruptcy. It was the invention that put the company back in the black and that, in time, would lead Nintendo to make video games.
The inventor, Gunpei Yokoi, who started off as the company’s janitor, made the Ultra Hand for fun in his spare time. After he brought it to the CEO, the company made so much money that they made it a policy to green-light any idea Yokoi proposed. That was a huge moment for the company—because that former janitor would end up pitching the Game & Watch system, Nintendo’s first video game system. He would also create the Nintendo Game Boy.
That was the turning point in the company’s history: an extending claw that let you grab things from high shelves. And if Nintendo hadn’t sold it, they never would have made a single video game.
Sometimes the best ideas come from the most unlikely sources, right? Just show it pays to listen to all input, just in case.
Coffee out on the patio this morning!
8 comments:
Who knew? I thought I was the only one who uses my cane to reach high objects , or that gallon if milk from the back of the cooler at Wal-Mart.lol Raining here this a.m so your patio sounds good:))
That is so interesting. I have been contemplating getting myself a "grabber" as my arms seem to be getting shorter every year. Enjoy your weekend.
How a janitor with ideas at a company willing to listen changed to world!
It's a nice morning here at Sebastian inlet for coffee outside.
Tonight is our last scheduled night in a Florida campground, the next "scheduled" activity is in Union, Washington in 101 days.
I wish some of those "games" had not been invented. But seeing that someone (an 'unknown") in the company brought it to success is heartwarming. Just hope he was rewarded well.
Hey Mamahen...
Gotta make do with whatever tools are available, right?
Thanks for stopping by today!
Hey Linda...
They sure do come in handy at times.
Thanks for coming over today!
Hey Rob...
Sounds like a plan to me!
Thanks for the visit this morning!
Hey Momlady...
I'm fairly sure that he was! If nothing else, he had the satisfaction of seeing his inventions become mainstream.
Thanks for stopping by today!
"Necessity is the Mother of invention" so goes the old saying. He was just trying to make his life easier and instead he made everyone's life easier.
Some times you can't judge a persons intelligence by his job. This was one smart guy. I guess that toy wasn't sold here I have never seen one before.
Weather is kind of iffy today see you on the patio.
Hey Dizzy...
Sometimes the simplest things can really make a difference.
Thanks for stopping by today!
Hey Jo...
Probably making inventions was a hobby. I've seen similar gadgets like this, in fact I have a grabber, but not one that expands. It does come in handy from time to time.
Thanks, dear, for dropping by today!
Post a Comment