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The iconic Donkey Kong arcade game is growing by quite a few feet.
On April 10, The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, announced on its website the construction of the "world's largest, playable Donkey Kong arcade machine."
The Strong National Museum of Play is home ot the World Video Game Hall of Fame.
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The machine will stand nearly 20-feet tall, and be featured in the museum's newest 90,000-square foot expansion, The Strong National Museum of Play announced in a press release.
The Strong National Museum of Play is constructing the largest, playable Donkey Kong arcade machine which will stand at nearly 20-feet tall. (The Strong National Museum of Play)
The expansion opens on June 30, 2023, and will serve as a dedication "to the history of video games," the museum stated.
"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," Jon-Paul Dyson, vice president for exhibits at The Strong National Museum of Play, commented via the release.
The Strong National Museum of Play said it's working alongside Nintendo of America in an effort to keep the authenticity of the original game.
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"Creating the world’s largest, playable Donkey Kong game doesn’t happen overnight," Dyson told Fox News Digital.
As part of our June 30 expansion, The Strong will create the world’s largest, playable Donkey Kong arcade game. The game will stand nearly 20-feet tall and will be available for guests to play! Thank you @NintendoAmerica for providing input on the project.#DonkeyKong #Arcade pic.twitter.com/xQhsRVvCib
— The Strong Museum (@museumofplay) April 10, 2023
"In many ways, it’s the culmination of more than 15 years of The Strong National Museum of Play growing its video game collections, working at the cutting-edge of digital preservation, conserving and preserving hundreds of arcade machines, and building relationships in the gaming industry," Dyson added.
In 2017, Donkey Kong was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame, the museum reported.
The original Donkey Kong cabinet stands roughly at five feet tall, according to several e-commerce sites that are currently selling the product. The massive construction will be 370% larger than the original arcade machine, the release shared.
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Players will stand at a pedestal with a regular-sized control panel — a replication of the original buttons and joystick, which will sit below the large screen, the museum noted.
Donkey Kong was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame, at The Strong National Museum of Play, in 2017. (iStock)
"It will run on a motherboard from an original Donkey Kong cabinet, mirroring the original gameplay and experience as closely as possible," the press release stated.
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The completion of the construction is set for the spring, June 30, and will be available for play at that time.
"Doing a massive Donkey Kong was always a dream… [but] it required getting the technology just right to be able to render a game in its original form at such a super scale, and our team has done a great job with that," Dyson commented.
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The announcement of the vintage arcade game comes at the perfect time, following the release of the 2023 box office, record-breaking movie Mario.
The 20-foot tall Donkey Kong arcade game will be compeleted and available for play on June 30. (The Strong National Museum of Play/iStock)
"The timing of the opening around the launch of The Super Marios. Bros Movie wasn’t on our minds when this project started years ago, but it’s certainly fortuitous that the massive Donkey Kong will be unveiled at the same time a new generation is being introduced to Mario—who, of course, made his debut in Donkey Kong as Jumpman," Dyson added.
The Strong National Museum of Play is home to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the National Toy Hall of Fame, the World Video Game Hall of Fame and more.
