Nintendo: The Company and its Founders - Sharyland ISD

HIROSHI YAMAUCHI RULES
Around this time, Yamauchi put Yokoi in
charge of 30 engineers at Nintendo, a group called
Research and Development Team 1 (R & D 1).
R & D 1 would go down in history for producing
some of the best toys and games in Nintendo’s
repertoire. But even though Yamauchi appreciated
the engineers’ skills and inventions, he drove his
young product development team like a taskmaster.
He focused on their skills as individuals, never
actually promoting a team approach. This created
a sense of competition and the desire to please
the driven Yamauchi. This desire to please the
company’s owner was a sentiment felt throughout the
engineering staff and among other employees. One
claimed that they all “lived for his praise.” 2
IMPRESSING YAMAUCHI
Trying to impress Yamauchi, Yokoi moved on to
other inventions based on the Ultra theme. Yokoi
invented the Ultra Machine, which pitched baseballs
that were soft so the toy could be used indoors with
a bat. Next, Yokoi invented the Ultra Scope. It was
similar to a regular periscope, but it had a unique
refocusing function, which allowed kids to see
around corners.
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