The latest issue of Fortune magazine details the back-story of Nintendo’s success as a video game company. One thing worth noting is how impressively lean Nintendo is in headcount compared to the amount of revenue the company is able to bring in:

In short, Iwata has made Nintendo as efficient as a bullet train and as stingy as a bento box. The company’s 3,400 employees generated $8.26 billion in revenue last year, or $2.5 million each.

While exchange rates and fiscal calendars complicate comparisons to U.S. companies, let’s do it anyway. Over roughly the same time frame, Microsoft employees generated $624,000 each; Google’s performed 50 percent better, at $994,000, though still less than half as well as Nintendo employees. Nintendo’s profits reached almost $1.5 billion, or $442,000 per employee, last year, compared with Microsoft’s $177,000 and Google’s $288,000.

Related: Just how do those New York City businesses stay afloat with NYC commercial rent being the way they are? Find out just how much a pizzeria makes vs. a drug dealer in this very worthwhile read from New York Magazine.