Our hopes and dreams look set to come true in 2020.
We knew this was in the making – Universal studios announced the plans for the Nintendo-themed addition to their Hollywood and Orlando theme parks in November, but now Universal Studios Japan have officially announced that Super Nintendo World should be ready in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. I can’t pretend I was excited for the Olympics, but now they’ve been outshone by the news that we’re going to get to meet Mario and Princess Peach. Let that sink in for a minute.
Though this is great news for Nintendo fans, you don’t have to be a huge Mario fan to appreciate just how much of a big deal Super Nintendo World is – for the first time we’re going to be able to immerse ourselves in a real life video game environment.
In a news release made on the 12th December, Universal Studios Japan said that Super Nintendo World will be ‘Comprised of expansive and multilevel environments filled with unprecedented, state of the art rides.’
The Park is set to feature characters from the Super Mario series, along with other as of yet unannounced popular Nintendo characters. The attraction will apparently include attractions and characters based on many Nintendo titles, but for now we’ve been left guessing, though everyone seems to be crossing their fingers for some Zelda-related news. We can safely assume that if there’s going to be a Disney-style castle it’s going to be Mushroom Castle, but until we’re told otherwise we can go ahead and hope that they’re going to make some serious use of the Zelda franchise. We can dream, right?
Universal Studios Japan says that the expected development costs may run past 50 billion yen, but the economic benefits for Japan after the opening are expected to total around 11.7 trillion Yen and create approximately 1.1 million jobs.
Though the attractions are also set to open in Hollywood and Orlando, a trip to Japan might be in order before that happens.