Last year, Nintendo announced it was developing attractions for Universal’s theme parks based on its iconic video games. At the time, all we knew was that the deal had been signed. There was no mention of what the attractions would be (we came up with a few ideas of our own), which of the several Universal parks they’d appear at, or when they might be popping up. Today, the two companies circled back to give us a few more details about their partnership and the tiniest of sneak peeks at what this real-life Nintendo world might look like. The big news is that Nintendo attractions will be coming to three Universal parks: Orlando, Hollywood, and Osaka. According to a press release from Nintendo, the three areas will be opening “separately over the next several years” and each park will be announcing the details of its specific Nintendo zones individually. The only other tidbit it offers is that these will be full-on Nintendo-themed hubs within the parks, including “multiple attractions, shops, and restaurants.”
Nintendo also released a brief announcement video with Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario and Zelda, and the head of Universal Creative hyping up the partnership. It’s your typical corporate sales pitch, but in the background, you can get a first glimpse at some props from what appears to be a Mario-themed world. There’s highly detailed Koopa shells and Bullet Bill launchers, a light-up Fire Flower, and an enticing spinning coin. Even when viewed from this distance, the cartoonish proportions look picture perfect and the attention to detail on par with the wondrous real-world locations the company proved itself adept at creating when it brought The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild to life at this year’s E3 conference. Nintendo promises the first announcement of what will actually appear in these theme-park areas is coming soon.