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AfterAfter 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 field, 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 is launching under less than ideal circumstances; it was originally planned to open 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.
With that in mind, I headed down to Osaka for the opening day to see exactly how Nintendo and USJ would pull this off. The short answer is that they’ve succeeded. Super Nintendo World is a gleefully surreal experience that pushes surprising technological boundaries. Once travel starts to open up again, it’s going to drive a huge number of visitors.
>"Nintendo’s theme park finally opened on March 18th, and we were there on its first day. Mario Kart in AR is as wild as it sounds."