Super Nintendo World Is Officially Coming Stateside

Jealous of that nifty new commercial for Super Nintendo World? You don't have to fly to Japan in order to go play Mario in real life. Super Nintendo World is getting its first location in Japan's Universal Studios this spring, but after, there will be another Super Nintendo World at Universal's California location, and then Florida's. And it's going to be big.

Tom Williams, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Universal Parks and Resorts, described the plans for Florida's new Epic Universe park as the "most immersive and innovative theme park we have ever created." Super Nintendo World is going to be right at its center. One of the main attractions is going to be a real life version of Mario Kart, where attendees will be able to speed through Bowser's castle and toss bananas onto Rainbow Road. There are also whispers of a Yoshi-themed ride for the little ones and some kind of Donkey Kong-themed attraction, as well.

We learned this from an earnings call with Comcast executives, who predict that Super Nintendo World will drive up earnings and attendance significantly, saying, "It's up there with Harry Potter, and in some of our parks, HP drives incremental attendance of 2 million people." This is why Universal seems keen on plans to bring the Mushroom Kingdom to life. The executives are excited, and we are too, but it will still be a few years before we see Mario and the gang IRL. 

We haven't yet heard an exact year, but if this Epic Universe is going to be huge, it's going to take a while to build. The new park will dwarf the current scale of Orlando's Universal Studios. A quick glance at current concept art shows a sprawling world with tons of fountains and fireworks. Super Nintendo World is currently the only confirmed part of the park — we're not sure what else is going to be "epic" in this Epic Universe.