Nintendo store opening in San Francisco

[HCal]

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/n ... e/3818481/

Store will be in San Francisco's Union Square, and the second US location after Manhattan.

[Alpha8472]

This is the same Union Square notorious for the mob robberies and traffic jam of cars with shoplifters inside. Stores have been closing left and right. People are afraid to go to this area.

Nintendo has no idea what they are getting into.

[storewanderer]

At least someone is opening something there...

Not sure what they are thinking, but maybe if others start opening stuff there again, the area can try to start to revive.

331 Powell Street

Surrounded by things like Victoria's Secret, Saks Fifth Avenue, Westin Hotel... interesting location choice.

[grocerywatcher]

At least someone is opening something there...

Not sure what they are thinking, but maybe if others start opening stuff there again, the area can try to start to revive.

331 Powell Street

Surrounded by things like Victoria's Secret, Saks Fifth Avenue, Westin Hotel... interesting location choice.

Maybe the fact that it has the 2nd largest Japanese population in the continental US, as well as the fact that it's a tech hub which also tend to have strong gaming communities.

[storewanderer]

At least someone is opening something there...

Not sure what they are thinking, but maybe if others start opening stuff there again, the area can try to start to revive.

331 Powell Street

Surrounded by things like Victoria's Secret, Saks Fifth Avenue, Westin Hotel... interesting location choice.

Maybe the fact that it has the 2nd largest Japanese population in the continental US, as well as the fact that it's a tech hub which also tend to have strong gaming communities.

Historically this is not the type of customer who goes to Union Square. This does not fit the historical Union Square.

As far as the future goes, we will see what happens.

[grocerywatcher]

At least someone is opening something there...

Not sure what they are thinking, but maybe if others start opening stuff there again, the area can try to start to revive.

331 Powell Street

Surrounded by things like Victoria's Secret, Saks Fifth Avenue, Westin Hotel... interesting location choice.

Maybe the fact that it has the 2nd largest Japanese population in the continental US, as well as the fact that it's a tech hub which also tend to have strong gaming communities.

Historically this is not the type of customer who goes to Union Square. This does not fit the historical Union Square.

As far as the future goes, we will see what happens.

While that may be true, this is a destination-type store that people will travel for.

[pseudo3d]

This is the same Union Square notorious for the mob robberies and traffic jam of cars with shoplifters inside. Stores have been closing left and right. People are afraid to go to this area.

Nintendo has no idea what they are getting into.

This would've been a great idea 10/15/20 years ago, nowadays not so much.

I wonder why they couldn't have picked one of the Bay Area's better malls (possibly an outdoor one).

[Alpha8472]

This is the same Union Square notorious for the mob robberies and traffic jam of cars with shoplifters inside. Stores have been closing left and right. People are afraid to go to this area.

Nintendo has no idea what they are getting into.

This would've been a great idea 10/15/20 years ago, nowadays not so much.

I wonder why they couldn't have picked one of the Bay Area's better malls (possibly an outdoor one).

This area has terrible parking. If you travel to the area you will definitely have to pay expensive parking fees or park in narrow parking spaces with meters.

Traveling there by train still requires a walk past crazed drug addicts and aggressive panhandlers. You will be lucky not to step in human waste.

The tech people have fled the city. They are mostly now working from home or they have moved to the San Jose area.

The store would do better sales at one of the busy upper middle class malls in the San Jose area. That is where there are families, children, and rich people. Those malls have free ample parking and lots of foot traffic. There is security and low crime. In San Francisco, your car windows would be smashed by the time you get back from your shopping.

Even a store in affluent Pleasanton in the rich low crime suburbs would do more business.

[storewanderer]

Maybe the fact that it has the 2nd largest Japanese population in the continental US, as well as the fact that it's a tech hub which also tend to have strong gaming communities.

Historically this is not the type of customer who goes to Union Square. This does not fit the historical Union Square.

As far as the future goes, we will see what happens.

While that may be true, this is a destination-type store that people will travel for.

I do not think this is enough. They need to get into a situation where other video game companies cluster a few other similar themed destination stores in the immediate area to make this work.

[pseudo3d]

Historically this is not the type of customer who goes to Union Square. This does not fit the historical Union Square.

As far as the future goes, we will see what happens.

While that may be true, this is a destination-type store that people will travel for.

I do not think this is enough. They need to get into a situation where other video game companies cluster a few other similar themed destination stores in the immediate area to make this work.

But that's what Metreon basically was and that's now a Target with everything locked up.

On a larger scale, there have been countless urban malls with the legacy flagship store and a bunch of first-rate tenants and that still failed because it was just in a bad/inaccessible area that they were never able to overcome.