Nintendo Space World

Nintendo Space World (formerly called Shoshinkai (Japanese: 初心会)) is a video game trade show hosted by Nintendo. First held in 1989, it is typified by the unveiling of new consoles or handhelds. Unlike most other video game trade events, Nintendo World is not held annually or at any other set interval; Nintendo usually makes a decision regarding whether to hold the show any time in the year. It has historically always taken place in Japan, either in Kyoto, where Nintendo's headquarters are located, or at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba, Japan.

Nintendo Power explains: "Q: What is Famicom Space World? A: Space World is a free show for the public that follows the one-day Shoshinkai. Gamers who wish to attend need only pick up an entry pass at any official Nintendo retail location in Japan."^[1]:13

The systems that have been unveiled at the show series include the Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, and 64DD.

History

Shoshinkai 1989

The 1st Shoshinkai show was held on July 28, 1989,^[2] the Super Famicom was announced and Super Mario Bros. 3 was reportedly shown.

Shoshinkai 1990

The 2nd Shoshinkai show was held on August 28-29, 1990,^[3] the final version of the Super Famicom was unveiled to the public. Famicom, Super Famicom, and Game Boy games were on display in areas that Nintendo called "Symbolic Zones".

Shoshinkai 1991

The 3rd Shoshinkai show was held on April 24 to May 6, 1991,^[4] the Super Famicom had been on the market for a few months and a lot of the attention of the fair was dedicated to its video games. Two of them are presented and shine above the others, Final Fantasy IV and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

Shoshinkai 1992

The 4th Shoshinkai show was held on August 26, 1992,^[5] the Super FX chip was announced.

Shoshinkai 1993

The 5th Shoshinkai show was held on August 22, 1993,^[6] then President of Nintendo, Hiroshi Yamauchi, announced a new project in which the company called "Project Reality".

Shoshinkai 1994

The 6th Shoshinkai show was held on November 15-16, 1994,^[7][8] Hiroshi Yamauchi introduced a new portable console called the Virtual Boy. Specifications, release games and future releases were announced. Project Reality changed its name to Ultra 64.

Shoshinkai 1995

The 7th Shoshinkai show was held on November 22-24, 1995^[9] and featured the public unveiling of the now called Nintendo 64 console, with thirteen games. This included two playable game prototypes (Super Mario 64 and Kirby Ball 64) and a videotape containing a total of three minutes of very early footage of eleven other Nintendo 64 games. Of all these presented titles, the development of Super Mario 64 was reportedly the most advanced, though only 50 percent complete.^[10][11]

Shoshinkai 1996

The 8th Shoshinkai show was held on November 22–24, 1996^[12] and was located at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba, Japan. This show bore the first appearance of the 64DD and the Rumble Pak which would launch in a bundle with the upcoming Star Fox 64. The system was shown in its own display booth with the hardware specifications having been finalized, according to Nintendo of America's Chairman Howard Lincoln. The system played an improvised conversion of the Super Mario 64 cartridge game onto a 64DD disk in order to demonstrate the storage device. The booth also demonstrated the concept of rendering audience members' photographed faces onto 3D avatars and shapes, which was ultimately incorporated and released as Mario Artist: Talent Studio and the Capture Cassette for 64DD. N64.com described the presentation of Zelda 64 as "very quick shots on videotape".^[13][14]

Space World 1997

The 9th Space World show was held on November 21-23, 1997^[15] and was now known as Space World and featured a very early prototype of Pokémon Gold and Silver^[16] featuring two starting Pokémon who don't appear in the final game, and an early Chikorita. The game would not be completed until 1999, by which point it would have largely changed.

IGN explained that the 64DD's notoriously repeated launch delays were so significant, and the company's software library was so dependent upon the 64DD's launch, that this also caused the skipping of the 1998 Space World. The event had been delayed to early 1999 and then again to November 1999, reportedly specifically due to the lack of 64DD launch titles.^[17]

Space World 1999

The 10th Space World show was held on August 27-29, 1999,^[18] Paper Mario, EarthBound 64, and many other games were announced and shown.

Space World 2000

The 11th Space World show was held on August 24-26, 2000,^[19] a compilation trailer of Nintendo licenses running on GameCube hardware was displayed. Some games revealed then were Super Smash Bros. Melee, Luigi's Mansion, Metroid Prime, Meowth's Party, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Kameo: Elements of Power, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Batman: Vengeance, and the technology demonstrations called Super Mario 128 and The Legend of Zelda 128.^[20]

Space World 2001

The 12th Space World show was held on August 24-26, 2001^[21] and was the last Space World consumer event, featuring the upcoming GameCube and recently released Game Boy Advance. A short clip of Super Mario Sunshine was shown in its early form.

Some speculated another Space World consumer event would be held in 2005 for the formal unveiling of Nintendo's next console, Revolution (the development name for the Wii). This speculation was incorrect as Nintendo chose to fully reveal at E3 2006, the details of the system which would be renamed to "Wii". However, they did hold an event called Nintendo World 2006 that showcased the Wii and Nintendo DS.

Nintendo later held an event called Nintendo World 2011 in Tokyo from the January 8–10, 2011. The company gave the specific details on the Japanese launch of the Nintendo 3DS at this exhibition.^[22]

See also

• E3
• Nintendo Direct

References