The Strong National Museum of Play making world’s largest playable Donkey Kong arcade game
The Strong National Museum of Play today announced plans to create the world’s largest playable Donkey Kong arcade game.
Coming in at nearly 20-feet tall, it will be a prominent feature in The Strong’s 90,000 square-foot-expansion. Nintendo of America is said to be providing input on the project.
Those who stop by will be able to see the game from the first-floor welcome atrium of The Strong’s expansion, and it’ll be playable just outside the ESL Digital Worlds gallery on the second floor. According to a press release distributed today, it will be about 370 percent bigger than the original and constructed from an aluminum frame with MDF fiberboard.
How does it play? You’ll need to stand at a pedestal beneath the screen and use a regular-sized control panel that replicates the original joystick and buttons. Since it’ll be using a motherboard from an original Donkey Kong cabinet, it should be close to the original experience.
Jon-Paul Dyson, PhD, vice president for exhibits at The Strong, said:
“Donkey Kong is a true titan in the video game world—both in terms of character size and the iconic status of the game—so it lends itself perfectly to this playful, whimsical installation. The museum’s expansion will provide a new and bigger home for the World Video Game Hall of Fame, and fittingly, Donkey Kong was inducted into the hall in 2017. We’re thankful to Nintendo of America for providing guidance as we create this unique game feature as authentically and true to the original game as possible.”
The giant Donkey Kong will be ready to go this spring and available for play on June 30, 2023. The Strong National Museum of Play is located in Rochester, NY.
