Nintendo Museum has invisible hardware prototypes on display

What comes as a surprise to many is that a number of hardware prototypes have been added to the Nintendo Museum just days before the official opening date.

One of the main complaints raised about the location before the opening was that, based on what was shown in the Direct and to the press, Nintendo didn’t delve much into its history here. However, this has been somewhat remedied. With the museum having just opened, fans have discovered that there are many prototypes on display, including the earlier days with the Super Famicom and Virtual Boy, all the way up to the Wii U era. Some have been shown publicly before, but many have not.

X user FarmboyinJapan was one of the first to visit the Nintendo Museum and reported on the prototypes on display – which are on display in the ‘Storage’ exhibit on the second floor. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed. FarmboyinJapan did make notes about the prototypes, and we’ve summarized those tidbits below.

• Prototype Super Famicom with red buttons (this has previously been shown online)
• Ultra 64 controller prototypes (they had this label instead of N64); a controller that apparently had a control stick made of shiny metal and another prototype that only had a center handle; museum also has the final clay mold of the completed controller design
• Prototype GameCube similar to what previously appeared online, but this one had a greenish-blue color and was slightly transparent, revealing that there were no innards
• Prototype GameCube controller similar to a standard GC controller, with the button layout already in place, but much longer grips and the left grip was made of clear (now yellowed) plastic
• Prototype Wii remotes in the museum that were previously shown onlinebut also invisible ones, including one in the shape of a fidget spinner with a d-pad and buttons; another looked like a giant d-pad with buttons everywhere
• Prototype controller that was apparently the Wii Classic controller that allowed you to pair it with a Wii Remote; Attach the Wii Remote to the center of the controller
• Wii U GamePad prototype, that was it previously shown publiclyis located in the museum; has many cables that seemed to be several meters long
• Prototype Virtual Boy headset in the museum made of clear plastic and controllers for the hardware made of Styrofoam, with buttons and cables attached
• Multiple Game Boy prototypes in the Nintendo Museum, including the earliest model which was black with red buttons and a layout similar to the original GBA; has “Dot Matrix Game” instead of “Dot Matrix With Stereo Sound” that the final product has
• Another Game Boy prototype that seems to have moved on, which now had the vertical layout we’re all now familiar with, but it was an all-black unit with red buttons; has the phrase “Game Boy Are Widely Protected by Patents” below the screen
• One GBA prototype in the museum appears to have been designed to be used with one hand; size of a standard GBA Micro, but this one is instead designed with a vertical layout, has a small D-Pad/scroll wheel and buttons
• DS prototype with two screens that opened horizontally instead of vertically; D-pads and buttons on either side, making it look like an early Switch

Again, since photos weren’t allowed, you’ll have to use your imagination. However, FarmboyinJapan also made some approximations of what the prototypes looked like, which you can find here.

The Nintendo Museum is now open in Kyoto, Japan as of this week. We have a lot of details about it here.