As they often do for tentpole characters, Nintendo —at their flagship store at Rockefeller Center in New York City— held a special launch event for their leading lady, Princess Peach. Having recently (as of The Super Mario Bros. Movie) stepped out of Mario’s portly shadow and into the limelight—thanks partially to Jack Black’s hit song ‘Peaches’— Peach now stars in a game of her own, Princess Peach: Showtime!, which released on March 22, 2024.
Unlike many launch events held at Nintendo NY over the past few years for The Legend of Zelda and Kirby, the festivities for Princess Peach began on Friday, and ran all through the weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, where attendees could play the game on the store’s giant widescreen, sample Kung-Fu Tea’s new Princess Peach variant, purchase any of the considerable amount of Peach-themed merch, get your photo taken with Peach herself (she deigned to appear in person and take photos with the common folk), and of course pick up a copy of the game and/or a pair of matching pink Joy-Cons.
Nintendo NY’s second floor also got a near-total Peach-themed makeover, giving the store a fitting, Broadway-esque vibe (NYC’s famous theater district is only a few blocks away), and attendees who entered the Peach-specific area were given a ‘Mini Program Book’ with matching promotional, theater-style ticket that serves as a visual introduction to the game’s controls and mechanics.
Also among the handouts were a set of nearly identical cardboard flyers. Near-identical because the image of Princess Peach on the front was the same, but the images on the reverse reflected a variety of Peach’s possible in-game transformations. It’s unknown whether the four pictured in the article are the only ones Nintendo NY printed or if they printed all of Peach’s possible transformations and handed them out randomly.
Visitors who stopped by the Kung-Fu Tea kiosk were also given a free can of Peach Green Tea, as well as a promotional cloth pouch and a flyer, ensuring no Princess Peach fan would leave this event thirsty. The second floor also featured animated displays, and demo stations where anyone could try the game while sitting on Princess Peach-branded lounge chairs.
It was nice to see Nintendo NY pull out all the stops for their ‘new’ mascot; that all-too-rare instance where we get a game with a woman as the lead character (don’t worry, we see you, Samus). It’s Peach’s moment to shine and Showtime! gives Nintendo fans a glimmer of hope that one day we might actually see a Legend of Zelda game where, you know, Zelda herself is the star of the show.
