In a move that probably won’t affect you, Nintendo is making some changes to its presence in New York City. Don’t panic! Their Nintendo World Store near Rockefeller Center in midtown is sticking around. No changes there.
But the company’s Park Avenue offices, where I participated in a transcontinental video-conference interview with the creators of the new Luigi’s Mansion earlier this week, will be closing, with some employees moving to a smaller location.
“Nintendo is keeping a facility and operations in New York,” Nintendo of America spokesman Charlie Scibetta told me today in an emailed statement after I’d contacted the company about a possible shutdown. “The Direct Consumer Communications (DCC) team is moving to Redmond headquarters to merge with our Network Business Department (NBD) to provide better digital offerings and services for consumers. Other Nintendo staff unrelated to DCC will remain in New York in a new office location close to the Nintendo World Store.”
Nintendo games are mostly made in the company’s Kyoto and Tokyo studios. Their games are often translated and localised in Redmond, Washington. Nintendo also has a big office in the San Francisco office for sales and marketing. The smaller New York office — which features its share of Nintendo-themed clocks and artwork and appeared to fill much of the floor of the midtown high-rise that it’s in — was involved in handling the Club NIntendo fan rewards program. Scibetta said the Club Nintendo operations will be moved to Redmond. “There will be no impact to consumers as a result of the move.”
So, yes, inside baseball. But since it involves a location we just mentioned today, because the paltry presence of major video game corporations in New York City appeals to this NYC-headquarterd website’s regional bias — and because I just checked into those New York Nintendo offices on FourSquare on Tuesday and needed a reason to share the tip that popped up on my phone (see above)! — you’re getting this story.
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