Nintendo Theme Park: Universal To Develop Attractions Based On The Popular Video Game Properties

It looks like Disney can't win all the mega brands, as Japanese video game company Nintendo today announced plans to team with Universal Studios to bring their video game properties to life at Universal Parks & Resorts. But what might a Nintendo theme park look like?

Nintendo theme park map

Above is a Nintendo theme park map from the NintendoLand video game, not related to this new announcement, but I wanted to include it anyways. The press release says the partnership will allow Universal to create "spectacular, dedicated experiences based on Nintendo's wildly popular games, characters and worlds."

The immersive experiences will include major attractions at Universal's theme parks and will feature Nintendo's most famous characters and games. More details will be announced in the future, as the Nintendo and Universal creative teams work to create specific concepts.

Universal currently has parks in Los Angeles, Orlando, Singapore and Japan, with new projects announced for South Korea (on hold) Dubai (also on hold), Moscow and Beijing. No word on which theme parks will be getting new Nintendo lands or attractions, but Japan seems like the most obvious and Universal probably owns enough land in Orlando to start up a third gate (ie park) next to Islands of Adventure and Universal Orlando.

But imagine the rides, here are a few concepts that have been designed by fans over the years. For instance, imagine being able to make the supersized jumps in a real life sidescrolling Mario level:

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Or imagine a Mario Kart racing ride?

mario kart racing ride

Or what might a Zelda ride even look like?

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Universal has done some fantastic theming with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and I really can't wait to see what they have planned for brining the land of Nintendo into their parks. You also have to wonder, with Nintendo involved, if the attractions feature more interactive elements or be more in line with Universal's recent attractions, most of which have been comprised of moving motion simulators with big screen 3D elements.

Read the full Nintendo theme park press release below:

Nintendo and Universal Parks & Resorts today announced plans to bring the world of Nintendo to life at Universal theme parks – creating spectacular, dedicated experiences based on Nintendo's wildly popular games, characters and worlds.

The agreement brings two icons of entertainment together and represents a significant partnership for Nintendo as it expands the reach and popularity of its characters and intellectual property.

Universal theme parks offer incredibly popular, innovative themed family entertainment experiences based on compelling stories and characters – using powerful storytelling and innovative technology. Nintendo has created remarkable and imaginative worlds filled with captivating stories and beloved characters. Now, for the first time, those stories and characters will be brought to life in entirely new ways – only at Universal theme parks.

The immersive experiences will include major attractions at Universal's theme parks and will feature Nintendo's most famous characters and games. More details will be announced in the future, as the Nintendo and Universal creative teams work to create specific concepts.

About Universal Parks & Resorts

Universal Parks & Resorts, a unit of Comcast NBCUniversal, offers guests around the globe today's most relevant and popular entertainment experiences. With three-time Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg as creative consultant, its theme parks are known for immersive experiences that feature some of the world's most thrilling and technologically advanced film- and television-based attractions. Comcast NBCUniversal is a global media and technology company that owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news, sports and entertainment networks; Universal Pictures, a premier motion picture company; significant television production operations; a leading television stations group; and world-renowned theme parks.

Comcast NBCUniversal wholly owns Universal Studios Hollywood, which includes Universal CityWalk Hollywood. It also owns Universal Orlando Resort, a world-class destination resort featuring two theme parks (Universal Studios Florida and Universal's Islands of Adventure), four resort hotels, and Universal CityWalk Orlando. Comcast NBCUniversal also has license agreements with Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan and Universal Studios Singapore at Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore. In addition, Comcast NBCUniversal has recently announced plans for a theme park in Beijing and an indoor theme park to be developed as part of the Galactica Park project in Moscow.

About Nintendo

The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii U™ and Wii™ home consoles, and Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ families of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 4.3 billion video games and more than 680 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™, Nintendo GameCube™ and Wii systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™.

A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's website at http://www.nintendo.com/.