It may have taken us until September 2013 to truly get started. Blame anxiety!
But… on 27th November 2012, it was two months after Jen & Dylan’s wedding, and one month after Mario Fest 2012!
Both of those events were the building blocks that kicked off what became Nintendo North Wales!
We made this community for the StreetPasses – The 3DS function which encouraged people to meet in proximity and swap puzzle panels and buddy up for quests!
The first year, Jen would nervously StreetPass people in Bangor, but struggled to make connections, just leaving a clue to the Facebook community in the greeting of her Mii when StreetPassing.
3DS Bangor was born, but it wasn’t until meeting StreetPass Manchester in August 2013, that we became part of the hub StreetPass UK, and met all our counterparts across the UK. Meeting Rhys from a virtual Twitter Community StreetPass Llandudno, we connected, and StreetPass North Wales was born. We had regular events from September 2013 onwards.
In June 2017, the hub rebranded, and we became Nintendo Players UK and Nintendo North Wales respectively.
We’ve grown from strength to strength, and over ten years, we’ve seen friendships grow, generations of students pass through, and best of all we managed to create a safe space and welcoming community for gamers who wish to socialise and play Nintendo games together.
Jen spoke to some of our members about their thoughts on being a member:
“I’ve made some amazing friends and got to travel all over the country to attend different events and tournaments. And being the oldest member I get a distinct advantage when playing the retro games 🙂” John E
“Nintendo North Wales means so much to me being a group of like minded gamers coming together to share, play and make life long friendships with.” Darren R
The two above quotes were featured in This News Article, posted on 20th November.
And here’s some of our other members’ thoughts:
“NNW has given me the chance to speak hang out with people with similar interests as me, some of them are now my best friends. I also found out how good I really am at Mario Kart 😜” Glyn E
“NNW was how I met most of my best friends, and it’s something I look forward to every month. I’ve tried out new games as a result of recommendations from people here too!” Cat R
“I’m eternally grateful for this community for Happy times and friends I have made here and afar.” Dale H
“NNW was a great community to be a part of when I lived in Bangor, and even now when we don’t live locally we try and stay involved and even manage to get back for the odd event!” James L
“It’s let me meet so many like-minded people that I would never meet otherwise. The community around it is really welcoming, and the meets are always the highlight of my month.” Efrog B
“NNW is amazing because it doesn’t matter what your background or gaming ability is you’re always welcome 😊” Liesel D
“It was September 2017 when I found out that Nintendo North Wales existed through an advert on Instagram. I remember spending half the day in Wheldon, and the afternoon in Beaumaris Food Festival. It was about 5 months since I had a switch and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and I always wanted to find a community to play Mario Kart with in North Wales. The first few months it was me and my father, and once I turned 16, it was just me. I was so committed at one point I cycled from central Anglesey to Bangor on a Sunday because the bus service was not at its best! I remember attending the Anglesey Comic Con in Beaumaris in 2019 as well, although I did forget my Nintendo North Wales polo shirt though… I introduced some friends to the community, and to this day they will attend when they’re home. But. The forbidden C word came across in 2020. I did participate in some virtual meet ups, and played Mario Kart, but the connection was horrid so I decided to wait until it was all over… Although I didn’t attend the meet ups in Llandudno, once I found out it was back in Bangor, I leapt straight to the meet up in September. It’s now November 2022. 5 years since I first attended the sessions. I enjoy competing mostly in Mario Kart, but I’ll try some new games as well as new technologies, such as the Labo! I look forward to attending more meet ups, and by looking back on myself, going from GCSEs to my undergrad course in Bangor University, Nintendo North Wales have been with me between those years!” Rhodri W
“NNW has been quite special to me. Despite not being local I found the member base to be quite welcoming and it wasn’t long until I felt like part of the pack.
I also feel that the group has been a particularly welcoming to LGBTQ+ people and I think that’s why so many of the regular event attendees come from that community.
Finally, the events have genuinely been the best I’ve experienced. The annual leagues kept things exciting for everyone each year and it’s brought people back time and time again. The organisation that goes into the events is plain to see there is a lot of appreciation for the founders’ effort.” Chris E
“NNW is the holy grail of gatherings, bringing amusement and leisure to rural North Wales via Nintendo games, competitions and more. As Mario would say, NNW number one!” Rhys R (Co-Founder)
“I’m so grateful for our members, and that we have indeed put North Wales on the map as an independent Nintendo Community. Thanks for those who’ve stuck by us over the years, and to the newer members for settling in with such ease. This community has helped me in both my darkest times, and boosted life in the happier times too!” Jen G (co-founder)
