Nintendo New York facts for kids
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The Nintendo New York store in 2018
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Distribution, retail |
| Founded | November 16, 2001 (as The Pokémon Center) May 14, 2005 (as Nintendo World) February 19, 2016 (as Nintendo New York) |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Nintendo products, video games, and merchandise |
| Owner | Nintendo |
Nintendo New York is a special store for video game fans. It is the main store for Nintendo, the company that makes games like Mario and Pokémon. You can find it in New York City, at Rockefeller Center.
The store has two floors and is about 10,000 square feet big. It first opened on May 14, 2005.
Inside, you can buy many Nintendo video games and cool stuff. This includes clothes, game consoles, and special items only sold there. For example, you might find Japanese Mario character plushies.
The store also has a special area just for Pokémon fans.
On the second floor, you can try out different Nintendo Switch games. There are kiosks where anyone can play. This floor also has a museum. It shows off old Nintendo game systems and accessories. You can see things like the Power Glove and an original Nintendo Entertainment System.
Nintendo New York often hosts events. These include tournaments for new games. Winners sometimes get early access to games or prizes. The store has also shown official Nintendo broadcasts, like Nintendo Directs.
Contents
History of the Nintendo Store
The building where Nintendo New York is now used to be called The Pokémon Center. It opened on November 16, 2001.
The Pokémon Center closed in January 2005 for changes. Four months later, it reopened as the Nintendo World store.
On September 25, 2005, a famous game creator named Shigeru Miyamoto visited the store. He came to celebrate the release of Nintendogs. He also celebrated 20 years of Super Mario Bros.
Another game creator, Yuji Horii, visited on July 10, 2010. He was there for the release of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies.
On November 1, 2010, the Nintendo World store closed for three weeks. It got a makeover with new lights and a bigger museum area. This was also to get ready for the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. on November 7, 2010.
On November 17, 2012, the store held a big event for the launch of the Wii U. Many people came, and Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé was there.
From November 21, 2014, to January 15, 2015, players could get a special Eon ticket. This was for Pokémon Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire. The ticket let them find Latias or Latios in their game. Players could also share the ticket with others using StreetPass.
On January 19, 2016, the Nintendo World store closed again for updates. It reopened on February 19, 2016. At this time, it was renamed "Nintendo New York."
On March 14, 2020, the store changed its hours. Two days later, it closed completely because of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. Nintendo New York reopened on August 8, 2020. Visitors had to book a reservation online and follow safety rules.
On June 1, 2020, the store's windows were damaged during protests.
The Game Boy from the Gulf War
The museum on the second floor once showed a special Game Boy. It belonged to Dr. Stephan Scoggins, who was a medic during the Gulf War.
The front of this Game Boy was badly burned and melted. This happened in his living area during a bombing. Dr. Scoggins sent the Game Boy to Nintendo's magazine, Nintendo Power. He hoped they could replace it.
The people who looked at it thought it was broken forever. But they found it could still turn on! The Start and Select buttons still worked. They put in a Tetris game to test it.
Nintendo Power sent Dr. Scoggins a new Game Boy. They called it a "special 'Desert Storm' courtesy." His letter and pictures of the damaged Game Boy were in the magazine.
The damaged Game Boy was shown at the store since it opened. It proved how tough the console was. It stayed powered on and was taken care of. In 2023, it was moved back to Nintendo's main office in Redmond, Washington.
Other Nintendo Stores
Nintendo has opened other main stores around the world. These are sometimes called "sister locations."
On November 22, 2019, Nintendo opened its first sister store in Japan. It is called Nintendo Tokyo. It is located in a new building called Shibuya Parco. A new Pokémon Center store also opened next to Nintendo Tokyo on the same day.
Nintendo announced another store in Japan on November 5, 2021. This store, Nintendo Osaka, opened in November 2022. It is on the thirteenth floor of the Daimaru Umeda department store.
Nintendo of America's main office in Redmond, Washington also has a private store for its employees.
Licensed Nintendo Stores
Some stores are "licensed" by Nintendo. This means they are allowed to use the Nintendo name and sell Nintendo products. But they are not directly owned by Nintendo.
In May 2012, a "Nintendo World Store" opened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was opened by Shas Samurai, Nintendo's official partner there.
In June 2019, Nintendo's partner in Israel opened a licensed store. It is at Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv.
In March 2020, a store just for the Nintendo Switch opened in Hong Kong. It is called "NSEW" and works with Nintendo.
See also
In Spanish: Nintendo New York para niños
