Nintendo World Now Open For Business
Nintendo Celebrates First Retail Store Opening with Star-Studded Events in New York City
NEW YORK, May 14, 2005 - Nintendo fans come on down! Nintendo WorldTM, the one-of-a-kind interactive entertainment and retail destination, opens for business today in New York City's famous Rockefeller Plaza.
To celebrate today's opening, a special appearance by game fan and world skateboarding phenomenon, Ryan Sheckler, kicks-off a day-long block party. Sheckler, who stars in Tony Hawk's Underground 2 (THUG 2) for Nintendo GameCubeTM, will show the crowd his skills as a Nintendo gamer extraordinaire - squaring off against the winner of a tournament featuring Nintendo's latest hit game, Donkey KongaTM 2. The party also features a videogame tournament, contests and giveaways.
"Today's opening of Nintendo World is a milestone in our history," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "We know fans from near and far will want to come to New York City to experience a retail destination like none other in the world."
Nintendo started the grand-opening celebration on Thursday night with a sneak-peek VIP party held in the store. Celebrities from The Sopranos, Robert ller (AJ) and Steve Schirripa (Bobby), Danny Masterson who stars in That 70s Show and Richard Belzer of Law & Order: SVU walked Mario's blue carpet and gamed late into the night. Going forward, Nintendo World will host other special events for new Nintendo products and Pokémon® fans.
Featuring 10,000 square feet of retail space and two stories of interactive fun for all ages, Nintendo World is open seven days a week. Highlights of the store include:
- Exclusive Nintendo DSTM, Game Boy® Advance SP, Nintendo GameCube and Pokémon merchandise not found at any other store in the world
- Over 50 interactive stations featuring the hottest Nintendo games
- An extensive multi-player gaming wall featuring Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS systems
- A surround sound gaming lounge where consumers can play and feel like they are part of the game - complete with rumble seats!
- The new home of Pokémon Center featuring the best that Pokémon has to offer - exclusive merchandise, state-of-the art demo stations and an Ultra-Pokedex
- An extensive Nintendo DS sampling station
- A complete GameBoy Advance SP "bar" where consumers can grab a barstool and play a variety of games
Pokémon fans who bring their game paks to the Nintendo World opening, will be the first in the U.S. to get a special ticket to access some very rare Pokémon, Lugia and Ho-Oh, in Pokémon FireRed, LeafGreen or Emerald. Pokémon fans can also retrieve a special download for Pokémon Dash for Nintendo DS. In addition, the famous Pikachu Volkswagen Beetle will be on-hand along with a Pikachu costume character for photos. Finally, an exclusive collectible Pokémon Trading Card game card will be available.
The store hours are 9AM to 8PM Monday through Thursday; Friday and Saturday from 9AM to 9PM; and Sunday from 11AM to 6PM. The store is located at 10 Rockefeller Plaza in the heart of Rockefeller Center on 48th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
More information on Nintendo World can be found at www.nintendoworldstore.com.
The worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home and portable video game systems. Each year, hundreds of all-new titles for the best-selling Game Boy® Advance SP, Nintendo DSTM and Nintendo GameCubeTM systems extend Nintendo's vast game library and continue the tradition of delivering a rich, diverse mix of quality video games for players of all ages. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.9 billion video games and more than 336 million hardware units globally, creating enduring industry icons such as MarioTM and Donkey Kong® and launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid®, ZeldaTM and Pokémon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.
For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.