Nintendo inaugurated this Wednesday in a restored factory in Kyoto the first museum dedicated to the long history of this Japanese video game giant, from its beginnings as a playing card producer to the global success of franchises like “Super Mario.”
The history of the company began in 1889 producing Japanese playing cards called “hanafuda”. and also western style. It was not until 1977 that Nintengo released its first video game machines.
The museum located in the city of Uji, on the outskirts of Kyoto, has numerous interactive exhibits, such as an area where Visitors can play Mario or Donkey Kong on a giant console.
But other rooms focus on period products, such as a digital version of an ancient Japanese poetry game or workshops so that visitors can create their own “hanafuda” cards.
Tickets, priced at 3,300 yen ($22.60) for adults, are already sold out for October and November.
“Visitors can discover Nintendo’s commitment to a production that places importance on gameplay and originality,” Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of “Super Mario,” explained in a video in August.
The “Super Mario” franchise launched in 1985, two years after the company began selling its classic Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console.
The museum is part of Nintendo’s strategy to expand its brand exhibition, which also includes the successful Mario animated film released last year.
The firm has also built an area dedicated to the “Super Nintendo World” at the Universal Studios amusement park in Japan, which features a Mario Kart roller coaster.
A similar area will open next year at the Universal park in Orlando.
Nintendo announced its plan to open a museum in 2021.
Kensaku Namera, an analyst at Nomura Securities, assures AFP that the museum fits into Nintendo’s strategy of presenting itself as a place where “people can interact” with its franchises.
Renovating an old factory built in 1969, previously used to produce playing cards and later to recover consoles, is also a good move.
“It is an effective reuse of assets,” says this analyst.
