UPDATE
Would you like to go to Nintendo Kyoto? Where else should Nintendo set up shop? Let us know below!
ORIGINAL STORY
Several things have separated Nintendo from the rest of the gaming powerhouses over the years. And one of the biggest ones is how they’ve used their experience, longevity, and clout to branch out into things beyond games in ways the other publishers can’t. Yes, everyone has had TV or movie adaptations of their properties, but if you look beyond that, Nintendo is doing quite a lot. One such “expansion” they’ve been doing is opening up new stories from which fans can buy merch. One such store, Nintendo Kyoto, is opening up next week!
The reveal came from Nintendo insider Stealth, who not only posted the announcement but highlighted some images of how the store will look from the inside. As you can see below, there’s a lot to get a Nintendo fan happy, including a giant warp pipe with Mario’s head sticking out of it, Link, Isabelle, and an Inkling hanging out together, and, of course, the various amounts of merchandise that fills up the area. There’s everything from clothes to warp pipes to mushroom plushies, blocks, posters, and more!
To say that “we want to be there right now” would be an understatement, and we’re sure many fans are excited about Nintendo Kyoto as well:
As the insider said, they hope that more stores like these open up all over the world. Currently, there are numerous ones in Japan, with only one in the United States. It seems logical that The Big N would push for more stores given their “return to prominence” thanks to the Nintendo Switch and a certain movie with Mario, but it’s hard to predict what they’ll do next. We do know that they’ve been expanding their “claims” with their IP multiple times over the last several years.
For example, we know that they moved to the mobile market to try and cash in on that, and it’s been mostly successful. They also made the movie we mentioned that made over a billion dollars, and there are promises of more spinoffs and sequels coming. Then, there’s Super Nintendo World, an entire theme park that is currently in Japan and the United States that is dedicated to its franchises. Currently, only Mario is represented, but expansions are underway to bring in more characters and their series.
With each success, Nintendo is growing its platform and the people who have eyes on it, and that’s pretty cool. So you’ll definitely want to stay tuned for whatever they do next!
