Nintendo setting up shop in NYC

Nintendo has announced plans to erect a massive retail store right in the core of the Big Apple. The shop will be christened the Nintendo World Store and will be a two-story megaplex in New York City's Rockefeller Center, home of NBC Studios, Radio City Music Hall, and the annual world-famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

The store is scheduled to open this spring in the former location of the Pokémon Center, which will now shrink down and have its own section within the Nintendo World Store.

The outlet will be a Nintendophile's mecca, featuring sampling stations of games for its Game Boy Advance, DS, and GameCube gaming systems. The Nintendo World Store will also hawk other merchandise, including DVDs, accessories, and other Nintendo memorabilia.

This isn't the first store specializing in a company's gaming interests. The PlayStation store in the Sony-centric Metreon in San Francisco has become the hub of West Coast release events for Sony's consoles, as evidenced by its PSP launch hoopla last month. Opening a shiny new store in the heart of New York is sure to get Nintendo some much-needed attention in the ongoing battle with rival console manufacturers Microsoft and Sony. The company is hoping that if it can make it there, it can make it anywhere.

GameSpot will have more information on the store in the coming weeks.