Japan: Fans of gaming visiting its mecca should be excited, as the company’s former headquarters are being transformed into a 20-person hotel.
The hotel is slated to include a bar, restaurant, spa and fitness facility, all while maintaining the original building’s structure and, most importantly, it’s original sign.
The building was the company’s headquarters during the early-to-mid 20th century, when its primary products was not electronics or games, but rather playing cards. This headquarters persisted through the early tenure of revolutionary CEO Hiroshi Yamauchi, whose many ventures, including food products, a taxi company, and an infamous love hotel chain, served as the preludes for Nintendo’s eventual gaming dominance.
The building, which can be found in the centre of Japan’s major cultural hub Kyoto, is on the exterior a typical office or apartment complex, with no major distinguishing factors save the sign, announcing the existence of “Nintendo Playing cards.” This is set to change as the Kabuyama project, the current working title for the renovation, is set to completely overhaul the design of the building by 2021, when the hotel is set to open.
The building currently stands as a popular tourist attraction for gamers looking to see where the company that reinvigorated the games industry got started. Kyoto is a popular location for hotel development, as The Mitsui group is opening a new 160 room hotel there in the new year.
