u/Nymo

Happy 1 year anniversary, Nintendo San Francisco!

I wanted to swing by the store for my usual weekly trip after work, and I only realized that it was the anniversary when the community discord server pinged about it!

Before getting there, some good news outside: The sidewalk construction across Geary is FINALLY done! No more barricades to walk around to cross the street!

For the 1 year anniversary, the store celebrated by... operating as normal. I didn't expect anything since they didn't make a post about it on the official site event page or socials, but I was kinda hoping for a little something. The only difference was a store ambassador on the microphone downstairs. They typically have someone on the mic during events or some busy weekends (that Friday was pretty busy). For those who never heard them over the speakers, the usual spiel is reminding shoppers about the exclusive items in the store, upcoming events, checking in, etc and sometimes doing play-by-play commentary on whoever is playing on the big video wall. (I remember one weekend where one of the ambassadors was doing their best Princess Peach impression about the usual announcements)

But yeah, no free giveaways or anything for the special occasion, but I got to wish some of the ambassadors a happy anniversary. 🎉

Speaking of events, they do have a sign up for the Yoshi and the Mysterious Book event and I look forward to seeing how that one will be (still interesting that they're not doing it on release day)

One of the things I wanted to check was if they had the recent Indiana Jones and the Great Circle release, but I didn't see any physical copy, not even a digital card (btw, do check out Indy on Switch 2. It looks great and it's one of the rare full games on a card instead of a key card). I do wonder what the criteria is for what 3rd party games they stock. Like they have Pragamata (and the amiibo) in stock, but not physical Resident Evil Requiem boxes. (Fun fact: Did you know that Capcom is just down 4th Street close by to the ballpark?)

I wanted to give another look at the Switch 2 accessories, namely the cases since they he have some neat designs, like some lenticular ones that change how it looks depending on the angle. I believe these range from about $20-$30.

I think someone asked the other week if they still have the Pikmin vases, and with certainty they do! They're $20 each if I remember correctly.

I never really looked at the Peach section, and I think some of these are kinda new, like this fanny pack (that they call a "hip pack" according to the tag). It was funny, I overheard someone question "Ok, but where's the DAISY merchandise??" and as a fellow Daisy fan, I agree. Where is she??

Lastly, it does appear that each of the store statue figures are back in stock, including Splatoon Inkling and LoZ Link! (And no, there never was one for Pokemon. I don't think Pokemon are even included in the walking characters lineup, right?)

To close all of this off, it's wild to think how it's already been one year since the store opened. And lots have happened since: New games have been announced and released, the Switch 2 released (it's crazy to realize that the store opened before it released and only featured Switch 1 games), Doug Bowser (who helped open the store) retired and we have a new Nintendo America president now, the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and other things I'm sure I'm forgetting. Amid all these, it's neat to see how the store has evolved in the past 12 months, and I can't wait for the years to come.

A lot of criticism for the store stems from the initial month or so since the grand opening with plenty of things out of stock, the long lines, and the confusion with the Warp Pipe reservation system. Many questions I see about NSF come from the experiences of the store's growing pains weeks, and I'm happy to say that most of those issues aren't here anymore. Most items have been constantly stocked, if anything, generally restocked pretty quickly (with a few outliers, I'm looking at you Little People figures). I even stopped showing the Pokemon plush this week because it's pretty much been the same as before. The last time we used the Warp Pipe Pass was for the Mario Tennis tourney during Mar10 week. All other times, the weekend lines have been pretty quick, and on most days, non-existent. If you had issues visiting the store right after the grand opening, please stop by now as the store has been operating so much better now.

And much of that comes down to the wonderful work the ambassadors and managerial staff at NSF have been doing for the past year. Retail is never easy, especially at a flagship downtown location of a company like Nintendo, so kudos to all of you for making the experience a fantastic one each visit!

That's all for now!