NintendoNintendo has confirmed that the hotly anticipated “Super Nintendo World” area at Universal Studios Japan will be ready in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
While the house of Mario plans to create these shiny real-life Nintendo experiences at theme parks around the world, it’s only fitting that Japan is the place it all kicks off. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa reconfirmed the park’s development and scheduled launch date during a recent investor briefing.
NintendoConstruction on the park began in earnest back in October 2018, and we know we can expect a number of rides and attractions based on various Nintendo properties.
We know for sure at the moment there’ll be a Mario Kart ride, but the rest is currently shrouded in mystery. Rides based on The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, and Pokemon are probably a safe bet, though.
I’m also hoping for a Luigi’s Mansion ghost train and some kind of Metroid inspired laser quest attraction, but that’s just me dreaming.
It’s also been reported that a Super Nintendo World will arrive in the US sometime after the 2020 launch in Japan, but it doesn’t look as though construction has begun on this park just yet.
NintendoFurukawa also announced during the investor briefing that the Super Mario animated movie from Despicable Me studio Illumination is targeting a 2020 release.
Nintendo’s previous attempt at bringing Mario to the big screen was a bit of a mess, but a family friendly animation studio like Illumination is probably a smart fit for such a bright and colourful video game property.
If nothing else, we know Nintendo are famously protective of their creations, so they will have chosen Illumination for a very good reason. I can’t wait to see what they do with the plumber.
With the Nintendo Switch coming out as the best selling console of 2018 in the US and Super Smash Bros Ultimate taking the crown as the company’s best selling home console game to date, the future is looking bright for the Big N.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.