'Super Mario' leaps into real world in Universal Studios park launch

ORIENTAL LAND

17/03/2021 19:00

By Sam Nussey
    OSAKA, March 18 (Reuters) - Universal Studios Japan (USJ)
opens on Thursday its $550 million, pandemic-delayed
Mario-themed attraction in a major leap by games maker Nintendo
Co Ltd  7974.T  beyond the virtual world.
    The addition in Osaka bulks up USJ's roster of franchises,
which include "Minions" and "Jurassic Park", in its rivalry with
Disney  DIS.N , with the moustachioed plumber also coming to
other Universal parks worldwide.
    Entering through a giant warp pipe, visitors to "Super
Nintendo World", a real-world version of games creator Shigeru
Miyamoto's Mushroom Kingdom, are met with chomping piranha
plants, punchable coin blocks and a flag-topped Mount Beanpole.
    At the attraction, whose opening was delayed repeatedly from
last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, visitors can buy a $30
"power-up band" which syncs with the park's app to rank them as
they gather coins and defeat baddies. 
    "You can become Mario," Ayumu Yamamoto, vice president in
USJ's marketing department, told reporters at a press preview.
USJ is owned by Comcast Corp  CMCSA.O .  
    The wristband draws on the interactive wands in the Harry
Potter attraction and Nintendo's tradition of tactile gaming
gadgets and aims to capitalise on Mario's generation-spanning
appeal to drive repeat visits to the park.  
    New draws at "Super Nintendo World" include "Mario Kart:
Koopa's Challenge", a ride employing augmented reality headsets,
and the more sedate "Yoshi's Adventure" for younger visitors.
    The area's opening is a reply to investors frustrated by
Nintendo's reluctance to more aggressively commercialize its fan
base. The Kyoto-based firm's Switch games console has proved a
pandemic winner while a foray into mobile gaming has stalled.
    Visitors formed a long queue to join Super Nintendo World's
technical rehearsal the day before opening. USJ is currently
operating at reduced capacity and guests will need timed tickets
to enter the area.     
    
($1 = 109.1200 yen)

 (Reporting by Sam Nussey and Irene Wang; Editing by Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)
 ((sam.nussey@tr.com; https://twitter.com/SamNusseyRTRS;
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