After years of development and delays, Super Nintendo World finally opened this week at Universal Studios Japan (USJ) in Osaka. The themed area of the park is Nintendo’s biggest swing yet to leverage its most iconic characters beyond their traditional home of video game consoles. The idea sounds strong on paper. USJ is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Asia, and Universal has experience in the fieldAdd New, having launched the conceptually similar Wizarding World of Harry Potter themed areas at three of its parks, including Osaka. What could go wrong?
Well, a global coronavirus pandemic, for one thing. The park – which cost about $0.5bn (£0.36bn) to build – was meant to open last summer, ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, which were also delayed to this year. And even in more normal times, this would be new ground for Nintendo. Its game design credentials are unimpeachable, but in many ways it’s quite a conservative company, and theme park attractions are not exactly in its wheelhouse. But for Nintendo, it now represents part of a move from games firm to entertainment company.
The park is modeled on levels in Nintendo’s Mario games, the first of which was released in 1985 and followed the adventures of a plumber and his brother, a franchise that went on to sell more than 370 million games globally. Super Nintendo World follows the blueprint set by The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in that it’s housed within the larger theme park but feels entirely separate. Both areas are situated at the end of long entrance paths, and you generally can’t see the rest of the park when you’re inside.
One of the most popular rides in the new theme park will feature a Mario Kart race, which visitors will ride sporting an augmented reality headset attached to a red cap. And the park itself is a gaming experience, with visitors encouraged to buy wristbands to collect keys, redeem coins, play mini-games around the land and even team up with other visitors via a smartphone app.
Before you buy your plane tickets to Osaka, thanks to the neverending pandemic and all the new variants, there are still international travel bans in place. Initially only Japanese visitors will be able to visit. Additionally, at first the park will take half of the visitors it can accommodate to comply with social-distancing measures, and visitors will need to wear masks in most areas.
But Super Mario fans in the U.S. need not despair. Three more Super Nintendo World parks are in the works: Universal Studios in LA, Orlando and another in Singapore will hopefully be opening sooner than later.
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