World's Largest Donkey Kong Arcade Game Opening This Summer

By Marc Deschamps

The Strong Museum of Play has announced that it is building the "world's largest playable Donkey Kong arcade game. The arcade cabinet will stand at nearly 20-feet tall, and was built with input from Nintendo of America. The game is notable for featuring the first appearances of Mario (then known as "Jumpman") as well as the original Donkey Kong (who now goes by the name Cranky Kong). The playable arcade cabinet will be part of an expansion for The Strong Museum, which is set to open on June 30th. Most importantly, the cabinet will be open for guests to play!

The announcement from The Strong Museum of Play can be found in the Tweet embedded below.

The Strong Museum of Play has long been dedicated to preserving and displaying rare pieces of video game history. Located in Rochester, New York, the museum has also featured some incredible exhibits. In 2016, the museum featured an exhibit called "Playing With Power: Celebrating 30 Years of the Nintendo Entertainment System." Similar to the Donkey Kong arcade cabinet, the exhibit featured a massive NES controller that could be used to play the original Super Mario Bros. on a giant screen meant to resemble an old-school television set. I happened to visit the attraction back then, and photos I personally took from the exhibit can be found below.

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With The Super Mario Bros. Movie breaking box office records over the weekend, there could not be a better time for this type of announcement! Cranky Kong plays a major part in the movie, and many gamers might not have had the chance to experience his first appearance. A massive 20-foot tall arcade cabinet might not be the way that Shigeru Miyamoto first envisioned the game, but it still sounds like an awesome way to experience it. At the very least, it could be the perfect excuse for anyone that hasn't had a chance to visit The Strong Museum of Play!

Would you like to check out this arcade cabinet for yourself? Have you had a chance to check out The Strong Museum of Play? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

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