Nintendo New York

This article is about the New York City store. For the video game trade show, see Nintendo Space World.

Nintendo New York

The Nintendo New York store in 2006 (as Nintendo World)
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Distribution, retail
Founded	November 16, 2001 (2001-11-16) (as The Pokémon Center) May 14, 2005 (2005-05-14) (as Nintendo World Store) February 19, 2016 (2016-02-19) (as Nintendo New York)
Headquarters	New York City, United States
Coordinates
Products	Nintendo products, video games, and merchandise
Parent	Nintendo
Website	www.nintendonyc.com

Nintendo New York (previously known as the Nintendo World Store and The Pokémon Center) is the flagship specialty store of video game corporation Nintendo. Located in New York City at Rockefeller Center at 10 Rockefeller Plaza, the two-story, 10,000-square-foot (930 m²) store opened on May 14, 2005.

The store sells a wide variety of Nintendo video games and merchandise, including apparel, hardware, and accessories that are exclusive to the store, such as Japanese Mario character plushies, and special guides to games, such as GoldenEye 007 and Super Mario Galaxy. The store includes Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Pokémon X and Y sections. On the second level of the store, there are kiosks with various Wii U games running, allowing anyone to play. In addition, there are Nintendo 3DS stations available for use and play.

Nintendo New York regularly holds tournaments and shows for new games, giving early releases and prizes to winners. In addition, they've held screenings for multiple official Nintendo broadcasts, most commonly Nintendo's annual main E3 presentation. This was first done for the Wii's debut at E3 2006, and since E3 2010 a screening event has been held at the store every single year.

History

The space was formerly The Pokémon Center, which opened on November 16, 2001. It ran until January 2005, when it closed for remodeling, and it reopened as the Nintendo World Store 4 months later.

On September 25, 2005, developer Shigeru Miyamoto visited the Nintendo World store to commemorate the release of Nintendogs and the 20th anniversary of Super Mario Bros..

On July 10, 2010, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii visited the Nintendo World store to commemorate the release of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies.

On November 1, 2010, the Nintendo World store re-opened after a three-week makeover that included various upgrades, including the addition of new Nintendo DSi systems, adjusted lighting, and an expanded museum area. Part of the makeover included getting ready for the 25th anniversary celebration of Super Mario Bros. on November 7, 2010. Guests to the celebration included Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé and Shigeru Miyamoto.

On November 17, 2012, the Nintendo World store had a big launch event for the Wii U, and had hundreds of people in attendance. Reggie Fils-Aimé also made an appearance in the event.

From November 21, 2014 until January 15, 2015, anyone with a copy of Pokémon Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire could receive an Eon ticket for their individual game to have an in-game encounter with Latias or Latios, depending on their version of the game. Once the Eon ticket had been obtained, it could be passed on to other players with a copy of the game for free via StreetPass.

On January 19, 2016, the Nintendo World store was closed for renovation and re-opened its doors on February 19, 2016, with new features in the store. On its re-opening, the store was renamed "Nintendo New York."

External links

• Official website
• Archive copy of The Pokémon Center's official website at the Wayback Machine (archived November 18, 2001)
• Archive copy of Nintendo World Store's official website at the Wayback Machine (archived April 6, 2005)