Nintendo has been branching out to real-world attractions, like its theme park and museum. However, the recently opened Nintendo Museum is already changing its shopping policy because of scalpers.
As reported by VGC, the Nintendo Museum is now limiting the sales of certain merchandise. Keep in mind that it just opened in Japan on Tuesday:
Some items subject to the limited sale are keychains that look like various Nintendo systems and big pillows that look like controllers from the company’s rich history.
Why the abrupt policy change? Online marketplaces like Mercari sell these products secondhand for inflated prices. This Super Famicom cushion is listed for $166.80. The shop at the museum that sells them, Bonus Stage, has other collectibles, too, like mugs, pens, and shirts. Even the Virtual Boy is represented in all of its failed glory.
For those unaware, the Nintendo Museum is built upon the site of the original Nintendo factory that produced playing cards, the corporation’s first commodity. In addition to the shop, the museum contains interactive experiences on the first floor. One of them, which Nintendo developer, Shigeru Miyamoto, showed off, is a baseball-pitching machine. Visitors are tasked with hitting targets with the balls. Thankfully, the room it is located in does not contain any fragile valuables. My personal favorite is the shooting range, which includes replicas of the NES Zapper and Super Scope. You can see demonstrations of these attractions below:
While not everyone has the time or funds to make a trip to Kyoto to grab all of this memorabilia, it isn’t worth it to pay marked-up prices for unique products. Outside of actually taking a trip to Japan, the only other option to nab these items elsewhere is hoping they make it to the Nintendo Store. Granted, there is only one location in NYC at the moment, but it does ship stateside via its online store. Dare to dream, as they say!