Nintendo applies for new trademarks related to Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros. and other IPs in “food and accommodation” category 

According to the Japan Patent Office’s public bulletin, Nintendo filed new trademark applications for several of their IPs on October 11 (via ITmedia). Since the applications were made public, Nintendo fans in Japan have been taking wild guesses as to what these could be for, especially given that the trademarks were not filed for products like game software, but services related to providing food and accommodation. 

A total of 10 trademark applications were made for Animal Crossing, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Pikmin, Super Smash Bros., and Splatoon. This includes the game titles themselves, as well as their abbreviations and logos. The trademarks were filed under Class 43, which includes services such as providing hotel accommodation, food and beverages. 

Given the recent opening of the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto and its game-themed Hatena Burger restaurant, Nintendo fans are theorizing that the company may be planning to launch something along the lines of concept hotels and concept cafes/restaurants related to their IPs. Needless to say, there is now a bunch of people obsessed with the idea of a real-life Animal Crossing hotel. 

Hopes and speculations aside, Nintendo have on multiple occasions talked about their efforts to expand their IPs’ reach beyond video games, and the results of this have included  theme parks and the Nintendo Museum. Although nothing has been confirmed yet, their latest series of trademarks could be related to further initiatives in this vein.