Nintendo Kicks off Holiday Season With a Chance to Win a Trip to Visit Nintendo New York

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 15, 2026--

What’s on your Nintendo holiday wish list? This season, it could be winning a magical trip to Nintendo NEW YORK or discovering that just-right Nintendo gift online that was once available only at Nintendo retail stores. The holiday spirit doesn’t stop with the wish list. The Mario balloon will take flight in the 100 th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, while Nintendo NEW YORK and Nintendo SAN FRANCISCO will welcome visitors with holiday merchandise, seasonal offers and activities, creating more ways to share the Nintendo joy with the people who make the season special.

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The entry period for the Nintendo NEW YORK My Nintendo Holiday Magic Sweepstakes 1 starts today and ends on Nov. 2. Nintendo Account members can enter for a chance to win a two-night trip to Nintendo NEW YORK with travel taking place between Dec. 3 and Dec. 7, 2026. The prize includes a travel certificate, good for the base fare of a roundtrip JetBlue flight (excluding government taxes and fees), and a two-night stay for one winner and up to three guests. The winner and their guests will also get a personal tour of the Nintendo NEW YORK store and access to the store’s holiday event activities (subject to event timing and availability). For sweepstakes details and eligibility information, click here.

Just in time for the holiday season, hundreds of select merchandise items previously available only at Nintendo stores in New York and San Francisco are now available for the first time nationwide online, making it easy to shop from home at Nintendo.com and through the Nintendo Store app 2. Share the joy of Nintendo this holiday with exclusive items, collectibles and apparel inspired by your favorite characters and games including Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, Splatoon and more.

Then, in mid-November, Nintendo stores in New York and San Francisco will transform with festive window displays and seasonal decor. Visitors can discover exclusive holiday merchandise including the Super Mario Winter Collection, and warm up the season with cozy attire, accessories and more – all with a distinct Nintendo feel. Holiday gift guides, festive shopping bags, and, for a limited time, a gift with purchase (requires minimum spend) will be available while supplies last. Special holiday events at Nintendo NEW YORK will start in early December, including costume appearances from Mario and Luigi. For updates and additional information about in-store holiday events, follow @NintendoStoreUS on Instagram and X.

The Mario balloon also returns for the 100 th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, bringing his larger-than-life energy to one of the season’s biggest traditions. Watch him take flight on Thursday, Nov. 26 on NBC, Peacock and Telemundo starting at 8:30 a.m. in all time zones.

Whether you’re entering for a chance to win a trip to New York, watching the Mario balloon take flight during the 100 th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, or bringing a little Nintendo fun back home to your family with gifts and games, there’s plenty of cheer to go around as Nintendo brings people together this holiday season.

1 NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the contiguous United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) or the District of Columbia who are 18 years old or older. Sweepstakes begins at 5:00 a.m. PT on 10/15/2026 and ends at 11:00 p.m. PT on 11/2/2026. To enter, you must (1) have a Nintendo Account (if you do not have a Nintendo Account you can register for one free of charge at https://my.nintendo.com/ ); (2) visit https://my.nintendo.com/rewards/fda3e5a574c668e6; (3) sign in to your Nintendo Account; and (4) redeem 10 Platinum Points per entry at the Nintendo NEW YORK My Nintendo Holiday Sweepstakes page ( https://my.nintendo.com/rewards/fda3e5a574c668e6 ) as stated in the Official Rules. Limit ten (10) entries per person. One winner will receive a 3-day, 2-night trip for Winner and up to 3 Guests to New York City, NY anytime between the dates of 12/3/2026 and 12/7/2026. Trip will include: JetBlue travel certificates, good for the base fare of a roundtrip JetBlue Main flight (excluding gov’t taxes/fees), for Winner and up to 3 Guests from a major commercial airport near Winner’s home (as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion) to New York City, NY; 2 nights’ standard hotel accommodation (one room, quadruple occupancy, room and tax only) in New York City, NY at a hotel as determined by Sponsor in their sole discretion; non-exclusive ground transportation to and from airport and hotel in New York City, NY; a VIP tour or experience at the Nintendo NEW YORK store; and access to Nintendo NEW YORK holiday event activities (subject to event timing and availability) for Winner and up to 3 Guests. If winner is a resident of New York, air transportation may be substituted with another method of transportation by Sponsor in its sole discretion. The Approximate Retail Value of Prize is $3,271.00 USD (actual value may vary depending on departure date and location). A Nintendo Account is required to receive and redeem points. Terms apply ( https://accounts.nintendo.com/term_point ). Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Details and restrictions apply. For Official Rules, visit https://www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/events/rules/mynintendo-nintendo-ny-holiday-magic-sweepstakes/. Sponsor: Nintendo of America Inc., 4600 150th Avenue NE, Redmond, WA 98052.

2 Persistent internet and compatible smart device required to use app. Data charges may apply. Terms apply.

About Nintendo: Nintendo Co., Ltd., headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, has been providing a wide range of entertainment products and experiences since its founding in 1889, beginning with the manufacture and sale of Hanafuda playing cards.

Since the 1983 release of the Family Computer (Famicom) system in Japan, and continuing through Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo’s focus has been the development, manufacturing, and sale of its gaming systems and software. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 6.1 billion video games and over 870 million hardware units globally, and has created franchises such as Mario ™, Donkey Kong ™, The Legend of Zelda ™, Pokémon ™, Metroid ™, Kirby ™, Animal Crossing ™, Pikmin ™, and Splatoon ™.

Nintendo’s continuing mission is to create reasons to choose Nintendo for unique, family-friendly entertainment that puts smiles on the faces of everyone it touches.

A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for operations in the Americas. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at https://www.nintendo.com/.

Note to editors: Nintendo press materials are available at https://press.nintendo.com, a password-protected site. To obtain a login, please register on the site.

Just in time for the holiday season, hundreds of select merchandise items previously available only at Nintendo stores in New York and San Francisco are now available for the first time nationwide online, making it easy to shop from home at Nintendo.com and through the Nintendo Store app.

Whether you’re entering for a chance to win a trip to New York, watching the Mario balloon take flight during the 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, or bringing a little Nintendo fun back home to your family with gifts and games, there’s plenty of cheer to go around as Nintendo brings people together this holiday season.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A strong majority of voters believe that President Donald Trump is falling short at home and abroad, and they want major change in the upcoming midterm elections, according to a new AP-NORC poll that raises serious warning signs for the Republican Party at a critical moment.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, conducted less than four weeks before Election Day, finds that registered voters who identify as Democrats are more enthusiastic than Republican voters about casting a ballot. More voters want Democrats to win control of Congress and have a more negative view of Republicans.

The Democratic advantage is small in some cases, but, taken together, the findings paint a challenging picture for Republicans, who are clinging to control of Congress under the weight of an unpopular war with Iran and surging prices at home.

About 8 in 10 voters overall say the economy or the cost of living is among their top issues for the upcoming election, while about two-thirds say this about healthcare and the war in Iran. Other issues that are stronger for Trump — like immigration or crime — are lower priorities.

“The world is going backwards. We can barely afford anything,” said Diana Walker, a 65-year-old Democrat from Decatur, Georgia. “Everybody’s down. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or Republican, we’re all catching hell.”

Less than a month before the final midterm votes are cast, the poll finds that Democratic voters are more motivated to vote.

Overall, about two-thirds of registered voters say it’s “extremely" important to vote in the upcoming election, while about 2 in 10 say it’s “very" important.

But about three-quarters of Democratic voters say that voting in this November’s midterm elections is “extremely” important, compared with roughly 6 in 10 Republicans.

Ryan Longbrake, a 52-year-old Democrat from Columbus, Ohio who works in technology marketing, said he's especially excited about casting his ballot, and he's already taken steps to ensure that his wife and two college-age daughters will vote as well.

“I believe that there is change on the horizon and there is an excitement within our party,” he said, pointing to Democrats' momentum in Ohio's elections for governor and U.S. Senate. The party is also investing resources in Republican-leaning states, like Iowa and Kansas, where the political environment has put Democratic candidates on friendlier footing.

Republicans have controlled Congress for the past two years, but about half of registered voters now say they’d prefer to see the Democratic Party control the House or the Senate. A smaller percentage, roughly 4 in 10, say they want the Republican Party to control each chamber, while 15% are undecided.

One thing is crystal clear on the eve of the 2026 midterms: Voters want change.

About half of voters say they want “substantial change,” and roughly 3 in 10 want “complete and total upheaval” in the way the country is run.

Democrats and independents are much likelier than Republicans to want a full overhaul of the country’s direction. But even Republican voters are still looking for something different. Slightly fewer than half, 45%, want substantial change, while 13% want upheaval.

“I’m kind of tired of sending people there and nothing gets done,” said Krista Kohles, a 70-year-old Republican from near Davey, Nebraska. “Nothing’s changing.”

Voters are deeply frustrated with Trump and his leadership on the issues they say matter most.

Only about one-third of registered voters overall have a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of the Republican president, and a similar share approve of his performance as president.

Voters continue to be frustrated by the high cost of living, an issue that Trump vowed to address before winning a second term in the White House.

Nearly two years after his successful election, about 8 in 10 registered voters disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living, in line with a September AP-NORC poll. About three-quarters disapprove of his performance on the economy.

Even among Republican voters, only 44% approve of Trump's performance on the cost of living, while 54% approve of his leadership on the economy. That's a sharp contrast with other issues, like crime, on which Republican approval is much higher.

There are cracks in Trump's Republican base on other issues, too. Just 69% of Republican voters support Trump on foreign policy as the war in Iran stretches into its eighth month, despite his promises that it would only last four or five weeks.

DonnaJean Weber, a 72-year-old Republican from Manistee, Michigan, says she will continue to support Republican candidates this fall, but she's not happy with the state of the economy under Trump's leadership.

“Everything’s going up,” she said, pointing to the impact of the war with Iran, among other Trump decisions. “I don’t agree with him fully on all of these tariffs, either. It’s making this country look bad.”

The economy and the cost of living are high priorities for voters on both sides of the aisle. The survey found that the vast majority of Republican and Democratic voters say both issues are among the most important for the upcoming election.

Voters aren't any higher on one of Trump's potential successors in the next presidential election, Vice President JD Vance: About half have a “somewhat” or “very” negative view of Vance, compared with about one-third who have a positive opinion.

Trump's struggles do not mean that voters are particularly excited about the direction of the Democratic Party.

Overall, about 4 in 10 voters have a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of the Democrats, while about half view the party unfavorably. That's roughly similar to views of the GOP, although about 6 in 10 voters view the Republicans unfavorably.

Democratic and Republican voters are equally enthusiastic about their own side, with about 8 in 10 saying they have a favorable view of their own party.

But the critical bloc of voters who identify as independents is much more likely to have a negative view of the Republicans than of the Democrats. About two-thirds of independent voters view the GOP negatively, compared with about 4 in 10 who view Democrats negatively.

Michael Russo, a 51-year-old Texas voter who is not registered with either party, described the state of the country under Republican control as “a nightmare.”

Does he want Republicans to maintain control of Congress? “No, I want them in prison — several of them,” he said. But he's not thrilled with the Democratic Party, either.

"I’m not confident they’re going to do anything if they get into power," Russo said.

Peoples reported from New York.

The AP-NORC poll of 1,119 adults, including 925 registered voters, was conducted Oct. 8-12 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points, and the margin of error for registered voters is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

A driver passes a marquee displaying gas prices at a Menlo Park, Calif., Chevron station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Demonstrators gather at Memorial Circle to protest the proposed Triumphal Arch, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

President Donald Trump departs a campaign rally at the Laughlin Bullhead International Airport, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in Bullhead City, Ariz. (AP Photo/John Locher)