5 Products Nintendo Sells (That Aren't The Switch Or Games)

Nintendo has been the face of video games since the 1980s. While the PlayStation 2 is the best-selling console of all time, the Nintendo Switch, Game Boy, and Nintendo DS all follow close behind. Afterall, Nintendo is the company that patented the d-pad. Imagine trying to play some of your favorite 2D games without one. However, Nintendo isn't just a video game company; it's only mostly a video company. There's a big difference.

While you can purchase plenty of accessories for the Nintendo Switch 2, the vast majority are only officially licensed products that third-party companies manufacture. When Nintendo isn't selling Nintendo Switches and its games (RIP Nintendo DS and 3DS), the company offers a wide variety of non-game products that use characters from its assorted IPs. You've probably heard about product lines such as My Mario, amiibo, and the ever-growing library of Nintendo Lego sets, but there's more to Nintendo's non-game catalog than just these popular products.

The company also sells lights, plates, fidget toys, and hats. Some of these bits of merch are readily available online, while others are a bit more hidden away but no less official. You might not have known about some of these products, but they could be worth seeking out for the right collectors.

Nintendo didn't start off as a game company. It was founded in the 1880s to produce "hanafuda" cards (specialized Japanese playing cards). The company stayed in the playing cards business and branched out into general toy manufacturing before finally settling on video game design, and then circling back to supplemental playing card production. One of Nintendo's biggest moneymakers is the Pokémon franchise, and arguably the series' most collectible iteration is the trading card game.

While Wizards of the Coast (as in the company behind "Magic: The Gathering") was originally in charge of the Pokémon TCG, Nintendo — technically Creatures Inc., which co-owns Pokémon — handles the Pokémon TCG now. The company is in charge of both the physical cards and the Pokémon TCG Pocket app. Every so often, Nintendo also sells more generalized playing cards, such as a standard card deck based on "Splatoon," but those are often limited editions that sell out quickly.

However, if you want a truly special Nintendo card deck, you can always purchase a Nintendo-branded hanafuda deck. If you can track one down, that is. Nintendo once sold these cards to a worldwide audience, but those are all sold out now. If you want to get your hands on one, you will either need to visit a Nintendo store in Japan or buy one from sites such as Plaza Japan. This will become a running theme for many products going forward.

No two people level up their gaming setups and rooms the same way. Some prefer functional gadgets for their PlayStation 5 and Switch 2, while others gravitate toward decorations that help set the mood. Nintendo offers plenty in the latter category. If you shop in the United States and want to procure Nintendo decorations straight from the source, there's no shortage of options.

Nintendo sells light-up koopa shells, holographic posters, and Pikmin vases, all of which can spruce up a gaming den. And if you visit a Nintendo store in Japan, you can find plenty of items that aren't available stateside, including throw rugs styled after the zonai gliders in "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom."

Technically speaking, the Pokémon Center is part of the Nintendo umbrella, and with 1,000 creatures to draw from, you can find no shortage of decorations. You can buy posters and pillows to give your gaming room that signature Dazzling Gleam, but the Pokémon Center doesn't only cater to indoor locales. The Pokémon Center also sells plenty of outdoor decorations, just in case you want to hide a Pichu among your jack-o'-lanterns or make a ceramic Dratini guard your roses.

When someone is a diehard fan of something, they often say they "live, breathe, and eat" it. But can you really say you're a true Nintendo nerd if you aren't drinking chamomile tea out of a Jigglypuff-shaped mug? The Nintendo and Pokémon Center in the U.S. sells plenty of kitchenware designed for both young and old fans of their franchises.

You can buy "Animal Crossing" coasters, Pikachu cereal bowls, and a cutting board shaped like an Eevee and Pikachu. Nintendo even sells an "Animal Crossing"-branded coffee grinder that lets you grind down your own beans. And you thought a smart coffee machine was a must-buy item. Of course, Nintendo also sells plenty of kitchenware products that are exclusive to Japan.

Some are admittedly more niche, such as "Animal Crossing" bento boxes and adorable teacups that feature Kirby and friends, but others are more universal, including a Yoshi egg-shaped teapot and spoons topped with Kirby. Admittedly, the latter is a special piece of memorabilia you can only purchase at the Kirby Cafe, but if you want any of these items, you either need to visit Japan or buy through specialty stores that incur high shipping fees. Speaking from experience, tea tastes better in a Kirby teacup.

Many pieces of gamer apparel are merely licensed products. Still, while you can find plenty of shirts that feature video game characters, that's often all you will find unless you go shopping for Nintendo-branded garments. Much of Nintendo's wearable merch checks the usual boxes as most game-related clothes.

You've got the "Donkey Kong" hat, "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" long-sleeve shirt, "Metroid" hoodie, and Leafeon socks, all of which are readily available through the U.S. Nintendo and Pokémon Center stores. But again, since Nintendo is based in Japan, the company offers an even wider selection to its home audience. Different stores throughout Japan offer unique Nintendo merch you can't find in the States.

For instance, while the Pokémon Center in the U.S. sells t-shirts in a variety of designs, one of the Japanese Pokémon Centers has a unique kiosk that lets shoppers customize their own shirts. And while many people associate Nintendo with family and kid-friendly fun, the company sells plenty of adult-oriented products, including limited edition "Legend of Zelda" neckties. As with other Japan-exclusive products, if you want to get your hands on these items, you either need to visit the country or purchase them through sites such as Aitai Kuji.

Nintendo sells so many items that don't easily fall into other product genres that it's easier to just lump them all into one entry of miscellaneous merch. Plus, where else could you possibly see the coolest offerings available? If you scour the Nintendo and Pokémon Center stores, you can find plenty of seemingly random — but still fitting and awesome — items for sale.

These include Pokémon pins, sticker sheets, a "Super Mario Bros. Wonder" keychain, and limited edition "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" vinyl music collections (which should pair great with a vertical vinyl record player). While you can find plenty of non-sequitur Nintendo products stateside (e.g., the Alarmo clock), Japan is home to a wider variety of Nintendo merchandise that puts the "odd" in "odds and ends."

Think of the strangest items that Nintendo could sell, and you can probably find them in Japan. "Animal Crossing" beach towels? They got that. "Animal Crossing" laptop cases? A popular item. However, the cream of the tchotchke crop must be Nintendo fidget toy gashapons. Just visit a Nintendo store in Japan or the Narita Airport, and you can purchase a pocket-sized keychain that recreates the buttons and analog sticks of various Nintendo controllers in all their clicky glory.