One of 2024’s most anticipated new attractions, Nintendo Museum
has finally opened in Kyoto, Japan, showcasing play, heritage
and creative re-imaginings of historic Nintendo games
The museum is on the site of the old Nintendo Ogura factory in Kyoto, Japan / Image courtesy of Nintendo Museum
Located on the site of a former Nintendo factory that made playing cards and repaired toys and consoles, the Nintendo Museum finally gives fans a place to discover and learn about the history of the Japanese video game company.
Founded in Kyoto in 1889 when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi began producing handmade hanafuda playing cards, Nintendo entered a partnership with the Walt Disney Company in 1959, opening up the children’s market, and began manufacturing toys and video games in the 1960s and 1970s.
This history is celebrated in the new museum, via displays, interactive games and workshops.
“In more than 100 years since the company was founded, Nintendo has created many different forms of entertainment,” said Nintendo game director Shigeru Miyamoto, introducing the museum.
“Although the products we’ve made have changed with the times, our desire to create fun for the whole family remains the same. This museum is a place where you can learn about our commitment to crafting play and creativity – both of which are integral to Nintendo. We hope to share this feeling with you when you visit the museum.
“Nintendo employees, including our developers, have put their all into developing and creating this space.”
Visitors enter the museum via a Mario-themed Plaza. Inside, the museum is split into three sections: Learn, Experience, and Create and Play.
Mixing the old and new The Experience section, on the first floor, features eight unique interactive games created especially for the museum. These are based on past Nintendo content, creatively reimagined using modern technology.
These experiences include a reinvention of the handheld electronic Game & Watch console on a huge screen operated by visitors’ shadows, classic Nintendo games played via enormous controllers and an experience that allows visitors to explore classic Japanese Hyakunin Isshu poems using smart devices and a giant screen on the floor.
In the 1970s, Nintendo renovated bowling alleys, turning them into commercial shooting galleries called Laser Clay. For the museum, Laser Clay has been reinterpreted using light guns and video walls as a shooting game called Zapper and Scope SP, which can be played by up to 13 people at one time.
More than just video games The second floor features the Learn section, with displays of products released by Nintendo, from early games and consoles up to its most recent releases, as well as toys, board games and sports and leisure products. Visitors will find some unexpected products among the better-known ones, including baby strollers, photocopiers and an indoor baseball pitching machine.
Gameplay footage is displayed on large screens of the video games on show above the products so that visitors can see them in action.
These products are deliberately showcased with little explanation, according to the museum designers, so that visitors can ‘make connections and form their own thoughts about them’.
Getting creative In the Create and Play section, visitors can make their own Hanafuda playing cards in special workshops, and they can play Hanafuda as part of a specially created experience that uses image recognition and projection technology, allowing even first-timers to play easily.
The museum also features a café, and – of course – a shop, selling official merchandise based on Nintendo games and characters, as well as products only available at Nintendo Museum.
The lowdown
Where: Uki City, Kyoto, Japan
Cost: Tickets cost 3,300 yen
(£17 $22) per adult
Exclusive play experiences:
Shigureden SP
Explore Hyakunin Isshu poems using smart devices and the giant screen on the floor.
Zapper & Scope SP
Experience shooting using the Zapper and Super Scope in the world of Mario that spreads out on the giant screen in front of you.
Ultra Machine SP
A batting-cage experience inside a room. Hit the balls pitched by the Ultra Machine.
Ultra Hand SP
Use the Ultra Hand to grab the balls rolling down the lanes, and drop them into the pipes.
Love Tester SP
Two people join hands and work together on tests that measure their Love Level.
Game & Watch SP
Play Game & Watch games using your own shadow.
Nintendo Classics
Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64. Choose from over 80 games to play.
Big Controller
Controllers from past hardware generations made giant. Two people must work together to take on challenges in games released back in the day.
The factory features interactive games, workshops and exhibits / Image courtesy of Nintendo Museum
Image courtesy of Nintendo Museum
Visitors have the opportunity to make their own Hanafuda playing cards / Image courtesy of Nintendo Museum
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2024 issue 4
People: Jess French
The children’s author sees her fantastical creations brought to life at Chester Zoo
Interview: Peter Slavenburg
As Drents Museum in the Netherlands launches a radically new collection presentation, we speak to the designer about doing things differently
Talking point: A helping hand
Attractions industry workers need support more than ever, but is enough being done? We speak to some experts putting wellness and mental health first
Planetarium: Looking up
Bringing people together under the dark skies of Arizona, Lowell Observatory’s new Astronomy Discovery Center is truly unique
Waterpark: Desert Oasis: Qiddiya Aquarabia
The largest waterpark in the Middle East is set to open in Saudi Arabia in 2026, and it’s going to be huge. We speak to the team behind this epic development
Museums: Nintendo Museum: Play on
Giant controllers, consoles operated by visitors’ shadows and a game based on Japanese poems... The Nintendo Museum opens in Kyoto
Technology: Kyle Morrand: The power of play
The CEO of 302 Interactive is using AR, VR and other technologies to solve real world problems, and transform the attractions industry. He shares his game plan
Interview: Dominic Jones
From a game-changing partnership to getting creative with budget technologies, the CEO of the Mary Rose Trust is bringing his commercial nous to the museum world
Research: In the heart of it
City centre attractions are transforming to meet the needs of experience-hungry visitors, but where are they headed next?
One of 2024’s most anticipated new attractions, Nintendo Museum
has finally opened in Kyoto, Japan, showcasing play, heritage
and creative re-imaginings of historic Nintendo games
The museum is on the site of the old Nintendo Ogura factory in Kyoto, Japan / Image courtesy of Nintendo Museum
Located on the site of a former Nintendo factory that made playing cards and repaired toys and consoles, the Nintendo Museum finally gives fans a place to discover and learn about the history of the Japanese video game company.
Founded in Kyoto in 1889 when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi began producing handmade hanafuda playing cards, Nintendo entered a partnership with the Walt Disney Company in 1959, opening up the children’s market, and began manufacturing toys and video games in the 1960s and 1970s.
This history is celebrated in the new museum, via displays, interactive games and workshops.
“In more than 100 years since the company was founded, Nintendo has created many different forms of entertainment,” said Nintendo game director Shigeru Miyamoto, introducing the museum.
“Although the products we’ve made have changed with the times, our desire to create fun for the whole family remains the same. This museum is a place where you can learn about our commitment to crafting play and creativity – both of which are integral to Nintendo. We hope to share this feeling with you when you visit the museum.
“Nintendo employees, including our developers, have put their all into developing and creating this space.”
Visitors enter the museum via a Mario-themed Plaza. Inside, the museum is split into three sections: Learn, Experience, and Create and Play.
Mixing the old and new The Experience section, on the first floor, features eight unique interactive games created especially for the museum. These are based on past Nintendo content, creatively reimagined using modern technology.
These experiences include a reinvention of the handheld electronic Game & Watch console on a huge screen operated by visitors’ shadows, classic Nintendo games played via enormous controllers and an experience that allows visitors to explore classic Japanese Hyakunin Isshu poems using smart devices and a giant screen on the floor.
In the 1970s, Nintendo renovated bowling alleys, turning them into commercial shooting galleries called Laser Clay. For the museum, Laser Clay has been reinterpreted using light guns and video walls as a shooting game called Zapper and Scope SP, which can be played by up to 13 people at one time.
More than just video games The second floor features the Learn section, with displays of products released by Nintendo, from early games and consoles up to its most recent releases, as well as toys, board games and sports and leisure products. Visitors will find some unexpected products among the better-known ones, including baby strollers, photocopiers and an indoor baseball pitching machine.
Gameplay footage is displayed on large screens of the video games on show above the products so that visitors can see them in action.
These products are deliberately showcased with little explanation, according to the museum designers, so that visitors can ‘make connections and form their own thoughts about them’.
Getting creative In the Create and Play section, visitors can make their own Hanafuda playing cards in special workshops, and they can play Hanafuda as part of a specially created experience that uses image recognition and projection technology, allowing even first-timers to play easily.
The museum also features a café, and – of course – a shop, selling official merchandise based on Nintendo games and characters, as well as products only available at Nintendo Museum.
The lowdown
Where: Uki City, Kyoto, Japan
Cost: Tickets cost 3,300 yen
(£17 $22) per adult
Exclusive play experiences:
Shigureden SP
Explore Hyakunin Isshu poems using smart devices and the giant screen on the floor.
Zapper & Scope SP
Experience shooting using the Zapper and Super Scope in the world of Mario that spreads out on the giant screen in front of you.
Ultra Machine SP
A batting-cage experience inside a room. Hit the balls pitched by the Ultra Machine.
Ultra Hand SP
Use the Ultra Hand to grab the balls rolling down the lanes, and drop them into the pipes.
Love Tester SP
Two people join hands and work together on tests that measure their Love Level.
Game & Watch SP
Play Game & Watch games using your own shadow.
Nintendo Classics
Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64. Choose from over 80 games to play.
Big Controller
Controllers from past hardware generations made giant. Two people must work together to take on challenges in games released back in the day.
The factory features interactive games, workshops and exhibits / Image courtesy of Nintendo Museum
Image courtesy of Nintendo Museum
Visitors have the opportunity to make their own Hanafuda playing cards / Image courtesy of Nintendo Museum
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2024 issue 4
People: Jess French
The children’s author sees her fantastical creations brought to life at Chester Zoo
Interview: Peter Slavenburg
As Drents Museum in the Netherlands launches a radically new collection presentation, we speak to the designer about doing things differently
Talking point: A helping hand
Attractions industry workers need support more than ever, but is enough being done? We speak to some experts putting wellness and mental health first
Planetarium: Looking up
Bringing people together under the dark skies of Arizona, Lowell Observatory’s new Astronomy Discovery Center is truly unique
Waterpark: Desert Oasis: Qiddiya Aquarabia
The largest waterpark in the Middle East is set to open in Saudi Arabia in 2026, and it’s going to be huge. We speak to the team behind this epic development
Museums: Nintendo Museum: Play on
Giant controllers, consoles operated by visitors’ shadows and a game based on Japanese poems... The Nintendo Museum opens in Kyoto
Technology: Kyle Morrand: The power of play
The CEO of 302 Interactive is using AR, VR and other technologies to solve real world problems, and transform the attractions industry. He shares his game plan
Interview: Dominic Jones
From a game-changing partnership to getting creative with budget technologies, the CEO of the Mary Rose Trust is bringing his commercial nous to the museum world
Research: In the heart of it
City centre attractions are transforming to meet the needs of experience-hungry visitors, but where are they headed next?
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
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