The Nintendo World Store is the flagship specialty store of video game corporation Nintendo. Located in New York City at Rockefeller Center at 10 Rockefeller Plaza, the two-story, 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) store opened on May 14, 2005.
The store sells a wide variety of Nintendo video games and merchandise, including apparel, hardware, and accessories that are exclusive to the store, such as Japanese Mario character plushies, and special guides to games, such as Goldeneye 007 and Super Mario Galaxy. The store includes Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 sections. It replaced the Pokémon Center that originally stood in the building, which has since been moved to a subsection of the store. On the second level of the store, there are kiosks with various Wii games running, allowing anyone to play. In addition, there are Nintendo 3DS stations available for use and play.
The Nintendo World Store regularly holds tournaments and shows for new games, giving early releases and prizes to winners.
On September 25, 2005, developer Shigeru Miyamoto visited the Nintendo World Store to commemorate the release of Nintendogs and the 20th anniversary of Super Mario Bros..
On July 10, 2010, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii visited the Nintendo World Store to commemorate the release of Dragon Quest IX.
On November 1, 2010, the Nintendo World Store re-opened after a three-week makeover that included various upgrades, including the addition of new Nintendo DSi systems, adjusted lighting, and an expanded museum area. Part of the makeover included getting ready for the November 7, 2010 a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. Guests to the celebration included Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime and game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.
Famous quotes containing the words world and/or store:
“At the heart of all beauty lies something inhuman, and these hills, the softness of the sky, the outline of these trees at this very minute lose the illusory meaning with which we had clothed them, henceforth more remote than a lost paradise ... that denseness and that strangeness of the world is absurd.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“Finishing schools in the fifties were a good place to store girls for a few years before marrying them off, a satisfactory rest stop between college weekends spent husband hunting. It was a haven for those of us adept at styling each other’s hair, playing canasta, and chain smoking Pall Mall extra-long cigarettes.”
—Barbara Howar (b. 1934)