(Tokyo) Nintendo will open its own museum in Kyoto, western Japan, on October 2, the video game giant announced Tuesday, unveiling some of the interactive exhibits and installations that will allow visitors to explore its more than 130-year history.
“We wanted to show the evolution of entertainment while highlighting the elements that have been shared and built upon over the years” by Nintendo, explained famed creator Shigeru Miyamoto, father of Mario, in a video posted online Tuesday.
He can be seen walking around a room displaying many products from the Japanese company, which has been involved since the end of the 19th century.e century in the manufacture of playing cards, toys and board games, before achieving worldwide success with its video games.
More unexpected items made by Nintendo, such as a photocopier and a stroller, are also displayed in glass cases, under giant game controllers suspended from the ceiling.
The video also presents an interactive part of the museum, allowing you to play via a smartphone with giant cards projected on the ground or to hit balls launched by a machine with a bat in a Japanese interior from the 1960s-1970s.
Mr. Miyamoto can also be seen shooting a gun or playing the platform game Super Mario Bros. with a giant controller that requires two people to coordinate their movements.
Tickets will be sold through a lottery system, with adult admission costing 3,300 yen (about CAD$30), according to the official website.
The museum will be located a few kilometers from the center of Kyoto (western Japan), where Nintendo’s headquarters are located, and will be installed on the grounds of a former factory where Nintendo notably manufactured “hanafuda”, that is to say traditional Japanese playing cards.
Nintendo took its first steps into video games in 1977 with the launch of the TV Game 15 and TV Game 6 home consoles, while also developing arcade machines and games, such as Donkey Kong, released in 1981.
It then achieved global success with the Famicom console launched in Japan in 1983, and known abroad by the acronym NES (Nintendo Entertainment System).
In addition to its museum, the company is also due to open a new area dedicated to its character Donkey Kong in the huge Universal Studios Japan (USJ) theme park in Osaka, western Japan, by the end of the year.