Important takeaways
- Pictures of what's on offer at the Nintendo Museum gift shop have people trying to figure out how to get there and fly them home in various ways.
- Most notably Nintendo's giant novelty pads modeled after the N64 controller, Wiimote and more.
- There are also entire sections dedicated to Wii U and Virtual Boy products. Finally some love for Nintendo's least popular consoles.
Japan's official Nintendo Museum will soon be open to the public, but a few lucky influencers got the chance to tour the building filled with all sorts of items from Nintendo's early past. That means pictures of what you find walking around have found their way online, and while the museum tells a story that goes back to Nintendo's beginnings more than a century ago, it's the gift shop that sent us.
A few people have shared photos of what they found in the Nintendo Museum's gift shop, but for what appears to be an exhaustive look at what its patrons will be able to buy on the way out, you'll want to check out the Game Watch . The site has pictures of almost everything in Nintendo's gift shop, some of which will make you rush to book a flight to Japan. Hold on just a second but even if you're coming to Japan, you're going to have to figure out how to fly back a massive Nintendo controller plushie.
Those are really the things that caught my eye first among all the photos shared. So far I've seen giant pillow versions of a Wiimote, Famicom controllers, and my personal favorite, a big squishy Nintendo 64 controller. They all look huge, and currently the museum is the only place in the world where you can buy them. Maybe they will send them one day, although I dread to think how much it would cost. If you could sell these in all your stores one day, Nintendo, we'd really appreciate it.
Nintendo's museum has giant control pads
Someone grab me that N64 as they pass, please
While the controller pads are the best part, they are also just the tip of the iceberg. The museum also has merchandise dedicated to every console it has ever made, and I mean every console. Even the Wii U and Virtual Boy are represented, caps and t-shirts with their logos stacked next to each other – I feel like that was no accident. I also spied Nintendo's Ultra Hand toy from the 1960s in some of the Game Watch photos, or a 2024 recreation of it, which has an unexpected connection to today's Nintendo.
If you are planning a trip to Japan to visit the Nintendo Museum, you should first check the availability of tickets. The museum tickets are issued using a lottery system and it is already fully booked for the first two months.
Before making video games, Nintendo made playing cards and then toys. One of those toys was the Ultra Hand, an extendable toy arm that you can use to pick things up. If you haven't already made the connection, the retro toy was the inspiration for Link's Ultrahand ability in Tears of the Kingdom, which is likely why it appears to have been recreated for sale at the museum. Now excuse me while I try to manifest using my Ultra Hand to pick up a Wiimote pad while wearing my Wii Ut shirt.
