Nintendo of America promises to open a big new Union Square store in 2025

San Francisco’s Union Square got a welcome bit of good news Friday with a big announcement by video gaming company Nintendo of America that next year it will open a large new store in the iconic shopping district, where retail vacancies hit a record high in the first quarter of the year.

The new outlet will occupy nearly 10,000 square feet spread across two floors, according to the Redmond, WA.-based company, which is a subsidiary of Japan’s Nintendo Co. No further details were available, including the address.

Nintendo’s Union Square store will be only the company’s second in the United States, joining Manhattan’s Rockefeller Plaza, which advertises the place as an immersive “destination for family entertainment” that offers an “interactive experience.”

The New York City store, which opened in 2005, occupies 10,000 square feet on two floors and, in addition to selling Nintendo games, equipment and memorabilia, it features events where Nintendo characters make live appearances.

Nigel Hughes, senior director of market analytics at CoStar Group, a real-estate information provider, said a Nintendo shop sounded like “very experiential retailing,” which is an area that has shown growth.

“It’s good news,” Hughes said.

The terms “experiential” and “entertainment” were also featured as areas of focus in a February press release touting the name change of the huge Emporium Centre San Francisco mall on Market Street, which is at the edge of the Union Square district and is being run by a court-appointed receiver after the owners turned it back to lenders.

Nintendo’s announcement comes after the closing or planned closing of many stores around Union Square, including the February announcement by Macy’s that it would eventually close its giant store on the square as part of a nationwide closure plan and this month’s announcement by jewelry store of Shreve & Co. that it would leave San Francisco after 172 years and designate its Palo Alto outlet as its flagship.

Mayor London Breed celebrated Friday’s Nintendo news with a message on X, the online social network.

“This is great news for Union Square and fans from everywhere! We’re excited for San Francisco’s future and look forward to welcoming this iconic brand to our City,” Breed’s note read.

Marisa Rodriguez, CEO of the Union Square Alliance, provided a statement saying Nintendo's move “heralds a new era in retail experiences, blending family-friendly fun with the cutting-edge spirit of San Francisco's renowned gaming and technology sectors.”

Rodriguez said a Nintendo store “reaffirms the district's status as a premier destination, joining 32 other businesses” that have established themselves in Union Square since 2022.

Jeremy Blatteis, a real estate agent with long experience in Union Square, said he was “ecstatic” about Nintendo’s announcement, though he wishes the store were opening sooner.

Blatteis said he had two other potential leases in the works that he hopes to announce in the coming months, including one with a hybrid experiential retail component.

“It’s going to be a real shot in the arm for Union Square, wherever they go,” Blatteis said of Nintendo. “Hopefully, it’s a first step to transforming Union Square back to what it was and something better.”