What just happened? The Strong National Museum of Play has announced plans to build the world's largest Donkey Dong arcade cabinet. The fully playable game will stand nearly 20 feet tall and reside in the museum's new 90,000-square-foot expansion set to open on June 30 in Rochester, New York.
The Strong said Nintendo of America will provide input on the cabinet but didn't specify exactly how they are helping. The cabinet will be about 370 percent larger than an original machine and will be constructed using an aluminum frame and MDF fiberboard. Players will use a standard-size control panel that sits on a pedestal in front of the cabinet to control the action, and the game will run on a motherboard from an original cabinet for added authenticity.
Donkey Kong was Nintendo's first international success and helped rescue the newly established Nintendo of America from the brink of financial disaster. It was Shigeru Miyamoto's first game and one with an interesting background.
Miyamoto originally drew up the storyline as a love triangle between Bluto, Popeye and Olive Oyl from the Popeye franchise. The Japanese gaming company was unable to secure licensing rights, however, so Bluto became Donkey Kong, Popeye turned into Jumpman (Mario) and Olive Oyl morphed into Pauline.
The Strong National Museum of Play is home to the World Video Game Hall of Fame, which opened in 2015 to honor the best video games of all time. This year's finalists include Age of Empires, Angry Birds, Barbie Fashion Designer, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Computer Space, FIFA International Soccer, Goldeneye 007, The Last of Us, NBA 2K, Quake, Wii Sports and Wizardry.
The Strong typically selects four titles for induction into the Hall of Fame. If I were voting, Goldeneye 007, The Last of Us, and Quake would be a lock, and the fourth slot could go to Angry Birds, Wii Sports or CoD.