Nintendo 3DS Launch In NYC: Best. Week. Ever.
Thanks to the wonderful people at Nintendo and BrandAboutTown, I was able to attend the launch party for the Nintendo 3DS in New York City. To say it was a wonderful trip is an understatement – let's just say when Nintendo launches something, they don't mess around. I'm still reeling from all of the excitement, the food and of course the blistering NYC cold. Did you know that it snows in New York? Also they pay no attention whatsoever to 'Don't Walk' signs which was both frightening and exhilarating.
But on to my trip!
We stayed in the fabulous Empire Hotel, which made my teenage daughters insanely happy, since it's the hotel from their favorite show, Gossip Girl. (I decided to turn the trip into a family vacation, and brought my family along. You can read about that adventure here.)
There we were, in an iconic hotel across from Lincoln Center in New York City, and what's the first thing they did when we got into the hotel room? Set up my laptop and pop in a DVD of X-Files that they had brought with them. I love my little fangirls.
On our first night, all of the Nintendo Ambassadors had an elegant dinner at the swanky Asiate on the top of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. I want to stop right here and declare that it was there that I had THE MOST AMAZING PIECE OF MEAT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE. It was called Wagyu Beef, and is apparently a type of Kobe Beef. Seriously, I couldn't stop thinking about that steak. I could go on about it's juiciness and it's fine marbling but I don't want to scare you.
This is the view of Columbus Circle from Asiate. Also, a cranberry sphere, which I'll explain later in mind-numbing detail. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the Wagyu because I was in a coma while I was eating it.
The next day we went to the Nintendo World Store, which was like being in video game heaven. Nintendo generously gave us some spending money, and we scooped up some t-shirts and DS games. I bought Just Dance 2 for myself so I could bust out some Ke$ha moves in the privacy of my own living room. That's my daughter, hugging her shopping bag – it really was like the mothership calling her home.
Also, the store had a Nintendo 'museum,' where they laid out the history of the game. (I was surprised to learn that the company started from a playing card company.) I love these old consoles – I'm sad to say that I'm so old that I remember owning one of these. Along with a bow and arrow and something called a 'pager.'
And, as if they hadn't spoiled us enough, they took us all to a salon, fed us food and champagne, and got our hair did and our makeup done for the big launch event that night. Someone must have tipped the Nintendo people off to the fact that my party prep was going to consist of just running a comb through my hair and putting on some ChapStick.
Finally it was on to the party, and it didn't disappoint. A beautiful space, plenty of pleasing beverages and lots of killer food being passed around on trays. I got really good at hunting them down and grabbing my fill – it gave me an idea for a new 3DS game, where your character goes on a dangerous hunt for beef skewers and tiny gourmet polenta pizzas.
That's Samantha Ronson DJ'ing!
And of course we got to try out the fabled Nintendo 3DS! (I'm going write about the actual device and the games in a later post.)
Each game had their own cleverly themed area with their own game experts standing by – here are the spaces for Nintendogs+Cats and Steel Diver. I tried out every one of them, although I was better at some than others. I discovered if you don't know a thing about football, Madden NFL Football is probably not for you. However, I kicked several asses playing Super Street Fighter in spite of the fact that the only physical altercation I've ever had was a shoving match with Andrew Sherman in second grade.
