Nintendo picks EB Games’ Yonge Street flagship for its first store-within-a-store in North America

Nintendo will open its first store-within-a-store in North America inside EB Games’ flagship location at 267 Yonge Street in downtown Toronto, the Canadian retailer announced Tuesday. The permanent, 1,500-square-foot space opens to the public at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony, according to EB Games’ announcement. The store sits across from the Toronto Eaton Centre, iPhone in Canada noted.

The space will carry Nintendo Switch 2 hardware and software, playable game stations, Nintendo-themed displays, merchandise and photo spots. It will also sell a selection of My Mario merchandise, Nintendo’s line of products for young children, and EB Games says some of those items will be sold only at the Nintendo space in Canada. Unlike a pop-up or temporary promotion, the Nintendo section is a permanent addition to the Yonge Street store.

“There’s something special about gathering around the games we love, and we believe physical retail has an important role to play in creating those moments,” said Stéphan Tétrault, owner and chief executive of EB Games Canada. Susan Pennefather, vice-president and general manager of Nintendo of Canada, said the company is “proud to bring this concept to North America for the first time, right here in Toronto.”

The “first” comes with a qualifier. As MobileSyrup pointed out, the U.S. already has two dedicated Nintendo stores, in New York City and San Francisco. What is new for the continent is a branded Nintendo shop operating inside another retailer’s store.

The partnership comes just over a year after the chain returned to Canadian hands. GameStop sold its Canadian arm, Electronics Boutique Canada Inc., to Tétrault in May 2025, and the company said it would relaunch its 185 stores under the old EB Games name, The Canadian Press reported at the time. Tétrault founded the Boisbriand, Que., toy maker Imports Dragon and is a co-owner of McFarlane Toys. EB Games now says it has more than 170 stores across Canada.

The timing lines up with Nintendo’s holiday push. According to MobileSyrup, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort arrives Oct. 22, a Zelda-themed special edition Switch 2 console follows on Oct. 29, and a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time launches Nov. 5. Shoppers will be paying more for the hardware than at launch: Nintendo raised the Canadian price of the Switch 2 to $679.99 from $629.99 on Sept. 1, citing changes in market conditions it expects to last over the medium to long term.

The announcement covers only the Toronto flagship. For shoppers elsewhere in Canada, Nintendo hardware and games remain available through EB Games’ other stores and other retailers.

Sources: EB Games Canada news release (Oct. 6, 2026); MobileSyrup; iPhone in Canada; Nintendo of Canada, Switch 2 price revision; The Canadian Press via CBC News (May 6, 2025).