Nintendo’s Tokyo store is attracting ‘non-gamers’, company says

Nintendo’s efforts to broaden its audience by leveraging its popular IP outside of videogames is bearing fruit, according to the company.

Nintendo’s new Tokyo store opened in November 2019, while the Super Nintendo World theme park land at Universal Studios Japan will launch in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a new Super Mario animated movie is scheduled to be released in 2022.

More recently, the company has partnered with fashion brands such as Uniqlo and Moschino for Nintendo-themed clothing lines.

Speaking in a newly-published Japanese Q&A, Nintendo director and senior executive officer Shinya Takahashi claimed that the Tokyo retail store was already succeeding in attracting customers who do not own Nintendo consoles.

“Customers who do not have Nintendo’s dedicated game machines are also visiting the store, so we believe that the effect we expected so far has been achieved,” he said.

Company president Shuntaro Furukawa also recently said of the Tokyo store: “Since its opening, visitors have included not just young people, but also families with their children, and tourists from other countries. However, it is often necessary to wait to enter the store, which we regret can be an inconvenience to visitors.

“While Nintendo Tokyo does not greatly impact our financial results, the store serves as a base to convey the appeal of Nintendo’s IP, and we believe it will be a highly effective fixed point of contact between Nintendo and consumers.

“Going forward,” Furukawa added, “we plan to enhance our product lineup to reach a broader audience as well as to satisfy repeat visitors. We also intend to analyze consumer reactions and their opinions about the store as we consider the possibility of expanding to additional locations both inside and outside of Japan.”

Elsewhere in the Japanese Q&A, Furukawa said Nintendo Switch is entering “the middle of its life cycle” as it approaches its fourth year, and that the company isn’t concerned about the upcoming launches of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X as it doesn’t believe the new consoles will significantly impact its business.