After the amusement park opens in 2021 in Osaka, Nintendo will open a museum. The building with white walls pixelated in gray, which officially opens its doors on Wednesday, October 2, has two floors and offers a fun and nostalgic immersion in the world of the Japanese video game giant, through a rich collection of admirably preserved toys and multiple animations around. the consoles that have conquered the world.
This is an opportunity to learn. “more about our desire to invent experiences that give pride of place to play and creativity, two values inherent to Nintendo”says Shigeru Miyamoto. The man nicknamed the “Walt Disney of video games”, who joined Nintendo in 1977 after leaving the Kanazawa University of Fine Arts (south of Tokyo), is the father, among others, of the Zelda and Mario characters.
He played an important role in the design of the site near Ogura Station in Uji, south of Kyoto. Green pipes, yellow blocks shaped like a question mark and the little Toad at the entrance: the place installed in the old Hanafuda and Karuta playing card factory, the first activity of the group born in 1889, shows off the colors of the famous plumber.
All consoles in the spotlight
The museum dedicates its first floor to all the products offered for sale by the company, in a large circular gallery dominated by reproductions of the group’s multiple consoles, Game & Watch and even the Famicom. There we admire the game boxes. donkey kongone of the first arcade games to offer a narrative, zeldawhose adventures are inspired by Mr. Miyamoto’s childhood travels through the Sonode countryside, a stone’s throw from Kyoto, where he was born in 1952, and of course Super Mariothe Italian with overalls and big mustaches.
It is followed by a space dedicated to Nintendo creations for “on the move”: Power Pad, exercise bike and, more recently, Wii console. A little further away, the museum dives into the products that preceded video games. In addition to cards, Nintendo made board games, strollers, and other remote-controlled cars.
It was the release of a “laser gun” that led to arcade games and then consoles. Each of the latter, even the much criticized Virtual Boy, has a space and is displayed with its games, its controllers and its accessories. “If you look at our products, you will see that they all reflect the desire to create something unique”explains Mr. Miyamoto.
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