Nintendo Museum
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The Nintendo Museum is a museum located in Kyoto, Japan, that features exhibits of Nintendo's products, from the hanafuda playing cards it produced when it was founded in 1889 to the Nintendo Switch. It was built on the site of the Nintendo Uji Ogura Plant where the hanafuda and other playing cards were manufactured and is set to open on October 2, 2024. The museum was announced in a press release on June 2, 2021, under the tentative name Nintendo Gallery,[1] until it was revealed under its final name in the September 2023 Nintendo Direct, when it was originally set to open before March 2024.[2] On August 19, 2024, a Nintendo Direct was published where Shigeru Miyamoto provided a tour of the museum, many of the areas of which are themed after the Super Mario franchise, in addition to displays of a large variety of Super Mario-related products released by Nintendo since the early 1980s.[3] It is located at 56 Kaguraden, Ogura-cho, Uji-shi, Kyoto 611-0042.[4]
When visitors enter the Nintendo Museum, they will be issued entry passes known as "play tickets",[5] with the default design depicting a sprite of Mario from Super Mario Bros. Each play ticket contains 10 digital coins that can be used on the museum's interactive exhibits located on the first floor of Exhibition Building 1.
The roof of the Nintendo Museum features a large sprite of the ? Block from Super Mario Bros.[2]
Plaza
The outside of the Nintendo Museum includes a plaza featuring Blocks, a ? Block, an Empty Block, a Super Mushroom, and a pixelated Goal Pole with Mario from Super Mario Bros. grabbing it. The floor is decorated with tiles depicting sprites of enemies and objects from Super Mario Bros., being coins, a Goomba, a Lakitu, a Super Star, a Koopa Troopa, a Buzzy Beetle, a Bullet Bill, and a big Super Mushroom (which has eyes like its sprite from Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, although the rest of the sprite is more similar to its original Super Mario Bros. appearance).[6][7]
Main entrance
The entrance to the museum features a group of multi-colored Toad statues, which produce sounds and harmonized vocals when their heads are pressed.[7][8] Other Super Mario-related decorations include a mural of artwork from Nintendo's games, an alcove with drawings of Mario and a Super Star by Miyamoto and his signature, and small sprites of characters from Super Mario Bros.[7] Also nearby is a rest area with shelves of strategy guides and a model of Donkey Kong on a girder in the style of the original arcade game.[7]
Nintendo product exhibits
On the second floor of Exhibition Building 1, there is an area that shows many games and consoles that Nintendo published in exhibit boxes for each region, including games of the Super Mario franchise. Screens depicting gameplay are positioned above the exhibits. There is also a display that shows the ? Block's appearances throughout the series.
Shigureden SP
Shigureden SP is an interactive exhibit consisting in a floor with a screen that can be scanned with a smart device to play a traditional Japanese card game. In this area, there are pillars made up of Brick Blocks and ? Blocks.
Ultra Machine SP
Ultra Machine SP is an exhibit consisting of small rooms where visitors can play a reproduction of the Ultra Machine, an indoor pitching toy made by Nintendo in 1968 that uses balls similar to those used in table tennis. Visitors can hit objects in the room, including Super Mario ones such as bottles that, once hit, react by displaying Mario and Luigi's names while rotating.
Ultra Hand SP
Ultra Hand SP is a section that involves using an Ultra Hand toy to grab rolling balls and drop them into multi-colored pipes.
Zapper & Scope SP
Zapper & Scope SP is a Super Mario-themed activity in which visitors use either a NES Zapper or a Super Scope to shoot at enemies on a big screen. Points are awarded from shooting these enemies, while shooting Mario, Luigi, and Peach causes the player to lose points.
Nintendo Classics
Nintendo Classics is an area where over 80 single player and multiplayer Family Computer, Super Famicom, and Nintendo 64 games can be played for around five to seven minutes. Some Super Mario games like Donkey Kong for the Famicom are included in the exhibit. The library of games will consist of those already available on Nintendo Switch Online.
Big Controller
Big Controller is a section where visitors can play Family Computer, Super Famicom, Nintendo 64, and Wii games, except that the controllers are giant, requiring two people to play. Playable games in the exhibit include Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Dr. Mario, Super Mario World, and Super Mario Kart. Three scenes from Super Mario 64 are also playable:[3]
- Collect 50 coins!: Players have to collect 50 coins in Bob-omb Battlefield during the mission Big Bob-omb on the Summit. The course was modified to replace Bob-omb Buddies and signs with coins.[9]
- Defeat Whomp King!: Players have to defeat Whomp King in Whomp's Fortress.
- Defeat Bowser!: Players have to defeat Bowser in Bowser in the Dark World.
In the Nintendo Museum Direct, Miyamoto plays Super Mario Bros. with a Nintendo Museum employee as a demonstration.[3]
Café and shop
A café and shop are located in Exhibition Building 3 and 2 respectively. The café, named Hatena Burger, allows visitors to create a custom burger with over 270,000 combinations and features seats with Brick Block textures. The shop, named Bonus Stage, features merchandise exclusive to the Nintendo Museum. The logos of both locations feature a ? Block.
Gallery
Artwork and logos
On-site photographs
Miscellaneous
References
- ^ Nintendo Co., Ltd. (June 2, 2021). Utilization of the land of the Nintendo Uji Ogura Plant. nintendo.co.jp. Retrieved August 20, 2024. (Archived June 2, 2021, 01:05:18 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ a b Nintendo of America (September 14, 2023). Nintendo Direct 9.14.2023 - Nintendo Switch. YouTube. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ a b c Nintendo of America (August 19, 2024). Nintendo Museum Direct. YouTube. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ August 19, 2024. Nintendo Museum official website. nintendo.com. Retrieved August 20, 2024. (Archived August 19, 2024, 22:17:56 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Play Tickets. nintendo.com. Retrieved September 20, 2024. (Archived August 19, 2024, 22:39:21 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ @JohnAndersen21 (June 25, 2024). An updated overhead view of the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, Japan has been revealed via a May 24th update on Google Earth. Stone tile designers have added many Super Mario Bros. characters and one huge mushroom. The Nintendo Museum is scheduled to open this fall.. X. Retrieved August 23, 2024. (Archived August 23, 2024, 07:44:11 UTC via archive.today.)
- ^ a b c d Hatanaka, K. (September 25, 2024). 「ニンテンドーミュージアム」フォトレポート! 花札からSwitchまでの歴史を辿れる展示エリア. GAME Watch (Japanese). Retrieved September 25, 2024. (Archived September 25, 2024, 11:11:25 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ September 25, 2024. かわいい!キノピオがコーラスで迎えてくれるエントランス【ニンテンドーミュージアム現地レポ】. Nintendo DREAM WEB (Japanese). Retrieved September 25, 2024. (Archived September 25, 2024, 11:25:18 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ 時事通信映像センター (September 26, 2024). ニンテンドーミュージアム公開 巨大コントローラーでゲーム 任天堂. YouTube (Japanese). Retrieved September 26, 2024.