From the announcement:
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.
Founded in Japan in the late nineteenth century as a playing card company, Nintendo got into the video game business in the 1970s. Its franchises include Pokemon, Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong. Creators of the Wii console, Nintendo today trails Sony and Microsoft in sales of home console units, but its games are considered to skew more family friendly than the first-person shooter games more popular on PlayStation and XBox.
The deal with Universal allows the two companies to develop three-dimensional, interactive experiences in theme park settings that recreate and potentially advance the characters, settings, situations and narratives made popular in Nintendo's games.
Which Nintendo properties would you like to see in a Universal theme park, and where?
Update: A few thoughts: A Nintendo-themed attraction demands interactivity. A passive experience where guests sit on a ride or in a show won't satisfy that audience, which is conditioned to engage with these themes. A successful Nintendo-themed attraction cannot offer identical experiences on each visit, either. Furthermore, it ought to reward repeat visits, as a game rewards its player for his or her experience with the game.
That creates additional challenges for designers that they don't necessarily face with other IPs. The flip side is the inherent potential of having attractions that will remain fresh for audiences longer than those from IPs which would lend themselves to more static experiences.
Finally, while Universal has abundant space to play with (well, relatively) in Orlando and Japan, space is tight in Hollywood and especially so in Singapore. That's another issue for Universal Creative... and for fans who love to imagine what Universal Creative will do.
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Take that to the bank.
They would obviously have to have a Mario attraction of some sort too. There's a ton you can work with - just recreate the game NintendoLand and you can have a Top 10 park, in my opinion.
I really hope Universal doesn't screw up this HUGE opportunity.
But KidZone is a relic that needs to be replaced with big, people drawing additions. And the unused plot behind MIB/Springfield could hold a lot.
Whatever they do, I can't wait to see what it is (as long as it's not just a simple, single 3D Transformers/Spider-Man ride).
Regardless of where the attractions go, it's "Mario Time!"
In all seriousness, the deal is huge, of that there is no doubt. But I'm not much of a gamer, so this doesn't really get me that excited, no matter how much I try. :(
- A castle hub themed around Princess Peach's castle. A zone similar to Fantasyland with small rides based on the Mario franchise. Mario Party Carousel. Super Mario Bros 3 dark ride. Princess meet-and-greet (Peach, Daisy, Rosalina). Toad themed rides.
- Legend of Zelda Castle with a large e-ticket ride. Hyrule castle marketplace. Bow and arrow shooting range, boat ride, train roller coaster.
- Donkey Kong Country with a raft ride and a mine cart coaster.
- Space Zone with rides based on Star Fox, Metroid, and F-Zero. I'd have a coaster for each, but also an interactive shooting ride a la Toy Story Midway Mania.
- Gotta do something with Pokemon, but I'm not sure what at the moment, because they keep adding monsters.
Also James, I was just thinking to myself about that too. It seems like an in-line joke they'd make, similar to Dudley Do Right and the Simpsons.
That said, I would love to see them build actual rides in the parks, even if they are not all completely interactive. KidZone would be a great spot, although I too wish they would keep E.T., that won't happen. Too big of a show building not to work into a new Nintendo land. They would just have to make sure the rides are still family friendly, since that is the only family friendly land in the park.
I would love to see a Mario Kart ride that combines some of the best tracks from the game, a Zelda dark ride, a Super Smash Brothers stunt show, a Yoshi kiddie coaster, and some sort of 4D interactive Pokemon ride where you have to collect as many pokemon as possible. This could be a new experience each time because they could change up which characters are in the ride, and each time you may find new hidden characters. Donkey Kong was one of my favorites growing up, so I'd love to see that incorporated too. Maybe a playground.
My other thought was to have it be more of a dark ride using a trackless system. Twelve "karts" holding up to 4 persons race along various tracks from the game, with a randomized route for each group of riders. This could also involve items where you have mushroom speed boosts, banana wipeouts, karts "bumping" into one another.
I'm also thinking instead of having 3 laps with one theme on the ride, to have a cup like in the game. Three or four different themed sections of the track with a race re-start at each theme change. The first section would be Mario Circuit and the last would be Rainbow Road for sure, but I'm not sure what should go in between.
I'm just not sure if you'd get the best sense of speed with either idea, but Mario Kart isn't necessarily just about speed. I think I like the trackless system idea better, because Universal could handle crowd control much better.
As a theme park and video game fan (particularly Nintendo franchises), I hope I'm wrong, but I think this deal is Uni's answer to updating Woody Woodpecker's KidZone.
Right or wrong, Nintendo has a reputation for putting out "kiddie" games. And, let's face it, not many kids today can connect with Woody Woodpecker and pals.
This also plays into the "interactivity" point that Robert makes. Kids' attractions usually have more of a hands on bent to them.
I hope they do more with it. I personally think that the Nintendo franchises (Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc) have a wealth of themes that could fit just about any ride type. Like another commenter said, I hope they use the license to refresh one of the areas that I don't feel quite connect with people - my choices would be Toon Lagoon or Lost Continent.
To those of you that are hoping (or dreading) that this is going to replace Superhero Island, I wouldn't be willing to bet that Disney has ponied up the cash to make that happen just yet.
My gut says the Woodpecker is getting bounced. I hope I'm wrong, because, in my opinion, it would be a waste of potential.
With that being said, no need to fret. Universal's going to do this right. It won't be a "kiddy" area, but it will be a "family" area. Big difference.
With that being said, no need to fret. Universal's going to do this right. It won't be a "kiddy" area, but it will be a "family" area. Big difference.
Nintendo brings Mario. Even if we don't talk about how much potential comes from characters like Pokemon, the Legend of Zelda, or any of the others names familiar to hundreds of millions world wide, the name recognition of Mario alone is priceless. I realize for some of you that video games might not be your thing so let me say, Mario is to video games what Mickey Mouse was to cartoons. He is the poster child for the industry, loved by generations, and just like Mickey after 30-40 years, he is only getting bigger.
Nintendo could also be the first to figure out the new trend we are seeing in theme parks that involve guest interaction through games. We want to do more with what we have. Games can exist in the places we cannot build attractions. Games can also let the park manage the people in the park without directly "herding" them. Nintendo might bring the answer the industry is looking for. It might be like the Sorcerers of Magic Kingdom card game, Legendary Truth alternate reality game at Halloween Horror Nights, Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure in Epcot, or just interactive wands in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It could be completely new and use a technology we haven't tried yet. The advantage for Nintendo is that they have been making games for longer than Disney has been in business let alone theme parks.
My point is that this is a huge announcement because of it's infinite potential. This will be successful just because it's Nintendo.
Smile everyone. There is so much to look forward to!
That also kind of ties into what Robert is saying about being immersive. Video game fans are 100 times more crazy than both cinema fans and literary fans combined! You dare not properly represent their beloved childhood franchises, and they will attack you like an army of rabid dogs! So they're going to need as much time as they need to get this done right.
Besides, Universal has other stuff in the works such as King Kong to keep us company, so why rush it?
Meanwhile, the imagineers are probably trying to really push out some Star Wars and Marvel attractions.
I'm just hoping that it's not a straight up re-skin of the existing attractions in KidZone. Sure, you could slap some Nintendo themes on the stuff there and call it a day. I'm just hoping that it is an expansion instead of just an update.
While I don't think the archaic card games Nintendo was making back in the late 1800's have any relevance in today's theme park industry, at least you had me intrigued enough to look up the company's history! Interesting stuff. And they obviously know a thing or two about game-making!
As an avid video game player, I realize that the world of nintendo has a lot of potential. Universal's top priorities should be Mario and Pokemon, Nintendo's two most popular franchises.
As an avid video game player, I realize that the world of nintendo has a lot of potential. Universal's top priorities should be Mario and Pokemon, Nintendo's two most popular franchises.
Disney signs a deal with Intellivision and....
Yeah, I know. I do hope Universal Creative is able to create floating brick blocks in the new area that I can bump with my fist and gather gold coins. Probably won't happen though.
I Respond: That's just adorable.
You make a fair point. On a personal note, I enjoy your articles and look forward to reading more.
Keep up the great work Robert and everyone at TPI!
Also, Re: Bob Rumpke
Universal? Best theme park ever? Of course! After all, Universal does have absolutely flawless landscaping and theming, hiding all the actual show buildings and employee parking lots, trains their employees to ensure that each and every guest enjoys their experience, and that builds every type of theme park ride out in order to please as many demographics as possible, instead of just one, specific demographic, all of which featuring innovative effects and storytelling due to the fact that they actually take time to build said rides instead of rushing them but still work at a quick-enough pace so that new attractions aren't half a decade in-between. Not only that, but they feature truly timeless characters that have been loved by generations of people and will probably be enjoyed by many more generations to come. Y'know, instead of just whatever's popular at the time.
Oh no, wait, that's Disney World.
While KidZone and the area behind MIB may seem like the obvious choice for this, I'm inclined to agree that that's thinking too small - I think that this is Universal's best shot at a successful third gate, and I think there's some compelling arguments to be made for it. I can think of no other property on Earth, with the arguable exception of the Lord of the Rings, that holds the clobbering power of Nintendo and has yet to be spoken for in the theme park industry. Let's think about this:
1) Universal's eventual goal is to turn the Orlando "Disney Vacation" into the "Universal Vacation". While I don't believe this is going to happen in the forseeable future if ever, of course it wants a part of Disney's success, and Disney's model works. People show up, and don't have to leave their property until they go home. Universal has been working towards this by nicely filling out USF's and IOA's attraction rosters with beloved, well-recognized franchises (HPx2, Transformers, Minions, Springfield and now Kong in just the last 5 years), rapid hotel expansion to encourage guests to not leave the property, and now Lava Lagoon to round out the experience. But to truly compete with the Disney Vacation, there's no denying they need a third gate.
2) What's the biggest complaint about Universal? "It's not for kids like Disney is." Nintendo is probably the ONLY brand that packs a punch for that demographic that is even close to Disney, and it's made only better that Mario and friends resound throughout generations. This brand could single-handedly address this problem that has plagued Universal parks being compared to Disney parks since their opening.
3) Finally, the amount of potential Nintendo holds is incalculable - imagine a park with the unifying theme of video games, and the world-beloved Mario at the helm. Why stop at Nintendo? If Universal could scoop up a few more mature video game properties, they could have a very nicely rounded out park. Video games already clobber the film industry in terms of gross revenue, and while Super Mario Brothers, Pokemon and the rest of the Nintendo crew are the timeless staples, other brands value shouldn't be denied - imagine stepping into the blocky world of Minecraft, battling Space Invaders or running from Inky and Blinky in a retro games land, meeting Ezio in Renaissance Italy (Assassin's Creed) or "taking an arrow to the knee" in a Skyrim simulator. I think a video game themed park would be a resounding success and an incredible unifying theme. PLUS, with several video-game-inspired blockbusters on the horizon, not the least of which being Universal's own Warcraft, I think it only adds to the arguement.
While I'd begrudgingly agree that it's not the most likely outcome of this, I felt compelled to point out that it shouldn't be ruled out right from the get-go. I think the most compelling, and likely outcome of this is a Nintendo-land over KidZone, used as a beta test for USJ's 2nd gate, where Nintendo holds an even stronger brand presence. Fingers crossed though, I do think there is hope for a third gate out of this yet! I'm sure Universal execs have been pulling their hair out deciding if they want to play it safe with just a land, or go all-in for their third gate - but good luck finding a better franchise to headline that gate when it finally is time to build it.
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