Japan's Nintendo has announced it will open its long-awaited first museum on October 2, featuring vintage video games and an interactive "Shoot the Bold" game featuring Super Mario characters, AFP reported.
The museum in Kyoto's Uji city is housed in a renovated old factory built in 1969, where the video game giant got its start making Western and Japanese-style playing cards and later refurbishing consoles.
On Tuesday, the company also released a video by Shigeru Miyamoto, the famed creator of "Super Mario" and other famous games, which gives a glimpse of what lies behind the museum's walls.
"The Nintendo Museum is a place where visitors can learn about the company's dedication to manufacturing that values play and originality," Miyamoto said in the clip.
Along with shooter games and some of the company's first consoles, exhibits include a giant controller controlled by two people and another featuring ancient Japanese verses.
The company first announced plans for the museum in 2021, part of an effort to expand its revenue stream, and it was originally slated to open earlier this year.
Super Nintendo Park, the company's first theme park, opened in March 2021 after months of delays due to the pandemic.
Nintendo began operations in 1889 as Japanese card maker Hanafuda and released its first home video game machines, known as the TV Game 15 and TV Game 6, in 1977.
The Super Mario games launched in 1985, two years after the company began selling its Nintendo Entertainment System console.
Museum tickets for October and November went on sale Tuesday at ¥3,300 ($22.60) for adults and cheaper for children. I BGNES
