Nintendo knows how to throw a party!
Every chance I get to go into New York City, I have to stop at the Nintendo Store. No matter how many times I’ve been there, I always enjoy stopping in and seeing what new Nintendo merchandise they have. Hell as I write this, I’m wearing a pair of Super Mario pajama pants! (Don’t judge me, they’re very comfortable) It caught me off guard when I found out the store was getting remodeled and a “rebranding” as Nintendo NY. The rebranding could mean that global expansion for the Nintendo store is in the future or it could just mean it was time for a change. Let’s get into it, we have a lot to cover and Bowser isn’t going to help. Well, maybe Doug Bowser, V.P. of Sales, might help the cause.
Opening remarks were slated for 9Am as well as the ribbon cutting ceremony that had some of the higher-ups at Nintendo. It wouldn’t be a Nintendo event without the Super Mario Brothers as they were in full swing helping with the opening and photo ops. Also joining the Marios were Charles Martinet, the real Super Mario(voice that is), Doug Bowser-V.P. of Sales (still find it ironic that Nintendo has a Bowser working for them), Scott Moffit-Executive V.P. of Sales/Marketing and Rick Lessley- V.P. of the Supply Chain Group. See What I mean when I said it was a who’s who of Nintendo!
During the opening remarks, it was mentioned that Pokken Tournament Early Access Competition would conclude at the Nintendo NY Store. Now that the store has a movie theater-like screen on the second floor, it should make for the perfect setting for the Pokken Tournament Early Access Competition final! The ribbon was finally cut and the Nintendo NY store was christened to the Media. I didn’t see anyone smash a champagne bottle on the side of the building like they do with ships but I’m getting off topic here.
I was getting the impression that most of the media attending the event either haven’t been to the store before or don’t come to it too often because when the store opened the registers, people were buying lots of things. The only thing I really wanted was the “limited edition” t-shirts that have Mario and Link on the design and have the reopening date. I always like the stuff that has “Nintendo NY” or tells you that you couldn’t go online and get this; you had to get this at the Nintendo Store. The collectable coins that came with each shirt are really cool as well!
One of the neater experiences from the event was meeting the voice of Mario, Charles Martinet, and getting my picture with him. It was interesting to hear him recall his early days with the Brooklyn plumber and how his audition went to get the role. I guess you could say that the rest is history in the Mushroom Kingdom! This was the first time I have met Charles Martinet and he’s a really nice guy but I wouldn’t expect anything less from Super Mario.
Now, the first thing you think of when I say Nintendo is “games” and the NY store now has more game stations for everyone to play their favorite 3DS and Wii U games. I mentioned this before but they even have a giant screen on the second floor for larger-than-life gaming and The Legend of Zelda” Twilight Princess HD was getting a workout on the jumbotron.
It wouldn’t be the Nintendo Store without Pokémon and the second floor of the store has the Pokémon that you know and love. While I gave the store a tour quite a few times, it looked like there was less merchandise than in the past and more homage to Nintendo history. There was a display with original Super Mario 3 sketches and Super Mario Brothers sketches and I’m a sucker for that classic stuff!
In addition to the new game stations, there were multiple character displays added throughout the store like Mario going down the flagpole and the piranha plant coming out of a warp pipe. Today showed that Nintendo has very passionate fans because they waited in line, in the cold, for at least three hours before the store opened. If that doesn’t say dedication, I don’t know what does?
Nintendo really put time into the store and it looks really nice and I was happy to be a part of their opening day celebration.
I would like to thank Nintendo/Golin for allowing me to be part of the grand reopening celebration at the Nintendo NY Store!
