IT and Museums: Louvre to replace its audio guides with Nintendo 3DS consoles

Next March the Louvre museum in Paris will gradually replace its traditional audio guides – portable audio tour which provides a recorded spoken commentary through a handheld device on history of museum exhibits – with Nintendo 3DS pocket game consoles, The Wall Street Journal reads.

WSJ informs that of the 8.5m visitors a year to the Louvre museum in Paris just 4% use the existing audio guides. The Louvre museum officials believe that introduction of Nintendo 3DS with its interactive options (touch screen, Wi-Fi and 3D-display) as an electronic guide will make Louvre services more attractive for visitors. The Louvre will thus become the world’s first museum to use game console in such a way.

Using 3DS instead of traditional audio guides, visitors will be able to locate themselves within the Louvre, choose themed itineraries including special ones for children, and listen to hundreds of recorded commentaries, in seven languages, about the works on display. Nintendo is supplying the Louvre with 5,000 of the latest-generation consoles.

Nintendo has developed the content for the consoles, with the Louvre remaining in editorial control.

New iPad application is also in the works and in future mobile users will be able to download content to plan their visit.