Nintendo New York
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- "Nintendo World" redirects here. For the theme park area at Universal Studios, see Super Nintendo World.
Nintendo New York (sometimes written Nintendo NY; previously known as Nintendo World and The Pokémon Center) is an official store of Nintendo located in New York City at Rockefeller Center. The store was opened on November 16, 2001 as The Pokémon Center and on May 14, 2005 as Nintendo World. Visitors can purchase Super Mario and Nintendo merchandise. Additionally, visitors can play Super Mario games on the Nintendo New York's Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch systems. On February 19, 2016, the store was reopened after a one month renovation and had its name changed to "Nintendo New York".
Upstairs, there is a museum section, though the items on show often change. The second floor also contains a Pokémon section, where a lot of Pokémon plush toys are sold.
Nintendo New York often sells exclusive or rare Nintendo items, as it is the only official Nintendo store in the United States. They also give out special Nintendo shopping bags at checkout, with various character illustrations on them. The store often changes its décor, based on what games have recently been released. They also broadcast live presentations from Nintendo, primarily Nintendo Directs, for crowds of people to watch.
In May 2012, Nintendo opened their second retail store at the Al Faisaliah Tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; the store is operated by Shas Samurai, Nintendo's Saudi representative.[1] In 2019, Nintendo opened two additional stores: one at the Shibuya Parco in Tokyo, Japan[2] and another at the Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, the latter as part of a newly cut distribution deal with TorGaming Ltd.[3] Another sister location in Union Square, San Francisco, California is planned to open in 2025.[4]
In March 2020, Nintendo New York briefly closed its doors due to lockdowns imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; upon reopening the following August, it implemented tighter regulations to reduce the spread of the disease and required visitors to book reservations in advance. During its closure, the store was also one of many buildings that were vandalized by rioters during the George Floyd protests in New York City. Unlike many other affected locations, the damage was limited to smashed windows; the store was temporarily placed under police surveillance as a result.[5]
Activities[edit]
For some time around January 2010, visitors could go to the store from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM and talk to Charles Martinet, the voice actor of Mario, Luigi, and other characters from the Super Mario franchise. On November 7, 2010, on the 25th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros., Shigeru Miyamoto was among the guest visitors.
Visitors can frequently take part in tournaments and can chat with a screen with Mario or Luigi on it.
Whenever a live Nintendo presentation is set for broadcast (such as a Nintendo Direct or Mr. Sakurai Presents), a big screen is always set with a crowd of fans watching together, though this had been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as Nintendo's lack of pre-announced live presentations during this time.
Locations[edit]
| Location | Current name | Date of opening | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
 New York City, New York
|
Nintendo New York | November 16, 2001 | Nintendo of America |
 Riyadh
|
Nintendo World Store | May 2012 | Shas Samurai |
 Tel Aviv
|
Nintendo Israel | June 2019 | TorGaming, Ltd. |
 Tokyo
|
Nintendo Tokyo | November 22, 2019 | Nintendo Co., Ltd. |
 Hong Kong
|
NSEW | March 2020 | Nintendo (Hong Kong) Ltd. |
| Osaka
|
Nintendo Osaka | November 2022 | Nintendo Co., Ltd. |
| Kyoto
|
Nintendo Tokyo | October 17, 2023 | Nintendo Co., Ltd. |
| San Francisco, California
|
Nintendo San Francisco | 2025 (planned) | Nintendo of America |
Gallery[edit]
Nintendo World[edit]
Store logo
Inside the Nintendo World store
Old interior
A computer drawing of a red van promoting the Nintendo World store and Super Mario 3D Land, originally posted on Nintendo's Facebook in October 2011
A computer drawing of a red van promoting the Nintendo World store and Mario Kart 7, originally posted on Nintendo's Facebook in October 2011
Photo of a diorama based on Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Photo of a diorama based on Yoshi's Woolly World
The cake celebrating Mario's 25th anniversary.
Nintendo New York[edit]
First floor interior.
Second floor interior.
A Mario statue.
Mario, Luigi, Charles Martinet and the NOA executives during the opening of the renovated Nintendo New York.
Mario's maquette found in the store and Shigeru Miyamoto's sketch congratulating the store on its opening.
Original planning sheets of Super Mario Bros. exhibited on the top floor of the store.
Merchandise[edit]
A shirt with artwork of Mario over an image of real-life New York City
A shirt with twenty-five entities from Super Mario Bros.
A baseball cap with Mario’s signature “M” emblem on it
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ أحمد بن محفوظ (May 16, 2012). جولة داخل متجر Nintendo الرسمي في الرياض. TrueGaming (Arabic). Retrieved September 26, 2024. (Archived January 29, 2024, 19:37:49 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Kevin Webb (November 19, 2019). Nintendo's first store in Japan opens this Friday, and it looks like a Nintendo-lover's paradise — here's what it's like inside. Business Insider (English). Retrieved September 26, 2024. (Archived October 6, 2023, 08:57:01 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Shany Moses (June 25, 2019). Nintendo 2nd worldwide store opens in Israel. Globes (English). Retrieved September 26, 2024. (Archived April 29, 2023, 12:56:57 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Emma Roth (May 24, 2024). Nintendo is opening its second US store in San Francisco. The Verge (English). Retrieved September 26, 2024. (Archived August 27, 2024, 23:10:09 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Austin Voigt (June 2, 2020). Nintendo New York Store Windows Smashed During Riots In Manhattan. Nintendo Life (English). Retrieved September 26, 2024. (Archived June 3, 2024, 13:47:54 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
