America’s very first Super Nintendo-themed land will debut on February 17th at Universal Studios Hollywood and will see visitors climb behind the wheel of a life-size Mario Kart race car and enter a real-world version of a video game.
The themed land will also feature the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge AR racing car ride, 1Up Factory retail shop, and Toadstool Cafe restaurant.
A green warp tunnel will take visitors to the Super Nintendo World where they’ll experience a colorful landscape with animatronic scenery.
The Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge will take place within Bowser’s Castle and will see Riders steer through familiar race courses and Mushroom Kingdom worlds. Riders can also use AR headsets with visor screens that look very similar to Mario’s iconic red cap to see the video game-style action.
There are also Power-Up Bands that are embedded with radio-frequency identification tags that convert the entire Super Nintendo-themed land into a living video game. Visitors can jump and punch question mark blocks throughout the land using these Power-Up bands and collect virtual coins afterward.
Visitors will have to purchase the Power-Up band separately and to use it, they’ll have to sync it to a smartphone app which allows them to track their scores and compete with other players.
After opening the first Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan in March 2021, the company’s big plan for Super Nintendo World is to allow visitors not only to play the game but live it.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
