A Nintendo theme park is such an obvious concept that I’m astonished it’s taken this long to get one. The good news: Super Nintendo World is opening its doors (pipes?) on February 4, 2021. The bad news: it’s only in Universal Studios Japan. And also we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic.
Nintendo unveiled new images of the park, including a Mario Kart ride called Koopa’s Challenge.
The world of Nintendo games comes to life when #SUPERNINTENDOWORLD opens at Universal Studios Japan (@USJ_Official) on 2-4-21! pic.twitter.com/tFOoB1YnpO
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) November 30, 2020
Koopa’s Challenge is one of the main attractions in the park. It uses individual headsets (shaped like Mario hats) for augmented reality. The kart ride is on rails but the AR headsets feature item powerups and other audio and visual enhancements as you race through Bowser’s Castle and other classic zones.
Bloomberg reporter Kurumi Mori has a brief but informative thread based on her visit to the park.
It’s official! The very first #SuperNintendoWorld is set to open on Feb. 4th in Osaka, Japan!
I got a first-hand look and can confirm the Mario Kart ride uses AR headsets but is ON RAILS. So no falling off Rainbow Road 🌈 😆
Full thread below👇 pic.twitter.com/IIz3uuIQF7
— Kurumi Mori (@rumireports) November 30, 2020
The theme park was initially set to open alongside the 2020 Olympics in Japan, but both were postponed due to the pandemic. Universal is keeping the parks at 50% capacity and sanitizing rides and headsets, and enforcing social distance guidelines.
