Nintendo Opening 1st 'World' Store
By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 5/9/2005
NEW YORK — Nintendo is opening its first Nintendo World store this week in Rockefeller Plaza.
Described as a “mega-complex,” the two-story, 10,000-square-foot concept store will be located at 10 Rockefeller Plaza — the former site of a Pokemon Center shop — and will sell games, accessories, DVDs, trading cards and other merchandise, some exclusive to the store.
Nintendo World will also feature interactive stations and an extensive Nintendo DS sampling bar where consumers can play new and unreleased games. A revamped Pokemon Center, occupying the second level, will carry exclusive Pokemon merchandise including plush toys and apparel and will host special events. The store will also showcase tables for Pokemon trading card game play and offer computer stations with access to the official Pokemon Web site, www.pokemon.com. The site will also remain the only Manhattan location for the Pokemon Trading Card Game league, which will continue to convene on Sunday mornings in the concourse level of Rockefeller Plaza.
Recent recruitment ads for retail personnel on Nintendo's Web site described the venue as a “newly designed, state-of-the-art facility [that] will allow Nintendo to highlight new video games and products, driving customers through the store and creating an environment of the 'ultimate' game play experience.”
According to Nintendo, the store was designed to create an interactive experience via a multi-player gaming wall and a surround sound gaming lounge where consumers can play dozens of Nintendo games.
“Nintendo chose New York City as the home for the first-ever Nintendo World store as New York has always been the center of non-stop excitement, just like Nintendo,” said George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “The Nintendo World store will provide a venue for tourists, teens, families, gamers and interactive entertainment fans of all ages to play new games and sample upcoming ones.”
To celebrate the launch, Nintendo will host an exclusive “block party” in Rockefeller Plaza outside of the Nintendo World store on May 14. The event will feature interactive game kiosks, giveaways and gaming competitions, and the chance to play against a celebrity. Nintendo prizes will be given out throughout the day.
Nintendo World will be operated by Nintendo Merchandising, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nintendo of America.
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