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Sankei: Universal Studios Japan to open Nintendo Land in 2020, $400 million budget

watershed

Banned
I love this idea but I wonder how popular Nintendo will be 4 years from now. I don't mean that in a doom and gloom sense. They have world famous IP and a great legacy, that's not going to change. But 4 years from now we will have the NX and know pretty well whether it has been successful or not. We'll have seen Nintendo's mobile efforts and how they fared. We'll see their other IP licensing deals. By the time this theme park opens, Nintendo could be a very different looking company.
 

ryan299

Member
I'm curious about Orlando. I wonder if they decided against revamping the kids zone with Nintendo stuff and are holding everything for the third video game themed park.
 

Mr Moose

Member
I've always wanted to live in Japan...

...Though this doesn't really interest me, unless I can ride on a giant N64.

Do it. Do it.
 
I'm curious about Orlando. I wonder if they decided against revamping the kids zone with Nintendo stuff and are holding everything for the third video game themed park.

Universal Orlando will want Nintendo open as soon as possible to combat Disney World's Avatar/Toy Story Land/Star Wars Land plan. Universal's third gate likely won't be seen until at least 2020, and there are really no decent sources indicating it will be video game themed. I think it's way too blue sky at the moment to even speculate.

Regardless, the planned area for Nintendo in Orlando has enough space as is, and is adjacent to a giant expansion plot if they really feel the need to push out. Space shouldn't be a concern for this particular project. Now, will Universal create a "Nintendo Phase 2" like with Potter, possibly in the third gate? Very possibly. But I see no reason why the initial plans would change at this stage.
 

HawthorneKitty

Sgt. 2nd Class in the Creep Battalion, Waifu Wars
I love this idea but I wonder how popular Nintendo will be 4 years from now. I don't mean that in a doom and gloom sense. They have world famous IP and a great legacy, that's not going to change. But 4 years from now we will have the NX and know pretty well whether it has been successful or not. We'll have seen Nintendo's mobile efforts and how they fared. We'll see their other IP licensing deals. By the time this theme park opens, Nintendo could be a very different looking company.
We could be in the next Word War in 4 years. It's no use thinking about such things as a consumer right now. I'm not saying only think and say positive stuff, but that it's always a given we can't predict the future.
 
I'm curious about Orlando. I wonder if they decided against revamping the kids zone with Nintendo stuff and are holding everything for the third video game themed park.

I think the rumor that they pull a Wizarding World and turn Nintendo Land into a park "bridge" between the core park and the third park seems the most likely to me. Makes too much sense. Open up with the core Nintendo segment first, then when the third park opens launch with a second half the connects the two parks together with a themed link.
 
I'd love if there was a bit of Hyrule Castle, though I doubt they'd do anything on the scale of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

Respectable sources have implied that a Mario Kart attraction will very likely be the centerpiece of the project.

There had better be some quality Luigi death stare happening.
 

Hip Hop

Member
I love this idea but I wonder how popular Nintendo will be 4 years from now. I don't mean that in a doom and gloom sense. They have world famous IP and a great legacy, that's not going to change. But 4 years from now we will have the NX and know pretty well whether it has been successful or not. We'll have seen Nintendo's mobile efforts and how they fared. We'll see their other IP licensing deals. By the time this theme park opens, Nintendo could be a very different looking company.
These theme park deals seem like it will push Nintendo to work even harder to revilitize their presence for the years to come. They seem to be working on it, especially now with all the new initiatives like moving into the Mobile and Online spaces, and other things that they've never done in the past.

This could be a good thing and it might be a sign as to what they are cooking up next with NX. They gotta be coming stronger than ever before.
 
I'd love if there was a bit of Hyrule Castle, though I doubt they'd do anything on the scale of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

As much as I'd love that, if they went with a castle it would definitely be Peach's Castle. More iconic, and it would definitely be a cheeky nod to Disney.

That said, I kinda doubt they'd do something so ballsy as to make a fairytale castle their major centerpiece. Plus, less informed guests would see it as a knockoff.
 
As much as I'd love that, if they went with a castle it would definitely be Peach's Castle. More iconic, and it would definitely be a cheeky nod to Disney.

That said, I kinda doubt they'd do something so ballsy as to make a fairytale castle their major centerpiece. Plus, less informed guests would see it as a knockoff.

They already have Hogwarts as the castle centerpiece of Universal Studios. Dunno if they're inclined to have more castles. Maybe they can have a Luigi's Mansion haunt akin to Disney's
 
They already have Hogwarts as the castle centerpiece of Universal Studios. Dunno if they're inclined to have more castles. Maybe they can have a Luigi's Mansion haunt akin to Disney's

They're going to need some kind of grand facade for their Mario-themed attraction...might as well use Peach's Castle, right?
 

Feltrol

Banned
Can't wait for the pot breaking attraction!

0cc28b74ec5f78f47ff1bf251ce6aaf2.gif
 

RagnarokX

Member
I think the rumor that they pull a Wizarding World and turn Nintendo Land into a park "bridge" between the core park and the third park seems the most likely to me. Makes too much sense. Open up with the core Nintendo segment first, then when the third park opens launch with a second half the connects the two parks together with a themed link.
Hmmm... So A Link Between Parks?
 

Zalman

Member
I'm excited to see how this turns out. Makes sense to start in Japan, but ideally the U.S. parks aren't too far behind.

Seems like it's mostly Mario-focused at first. Hopefully they can get HAL, Pokémon, IntSys etc. on board too.
 
They already have Hogwarts as the castle centerpiece of Universal Studios. Dunno if they're inclined to have more castles. Maybe they can have a Luigi's Mansion haunt akin to Disney's

To be fair, I think that's different. I can't really articulate why it is, but the best way I can put it is that Hogwarts really isn't a typical "fairytale castle", and it definitely doesn't house a fairytale princess. They might be castles, but in terms of form and purpose they're otherwise unalike.

Peach's Castle or Hyrule Castle would pretty much literally be "Hey look, it's Sleeping Beauty/Cinderella Castle, but not!"

Hmmm... So A Link Between Parks?

;P
 
I thought the area for Nintendo in Orlando was already said to be somewhat small...like taking over the Kidzone part of the park of something.
 

antonz

Member
I thought the area for Nintendo in Orlando was already said to be somewhat small...like taking over the Kidzone part of the park of something.

Never been any info on where it could go. Some people have speculated it could be a shoved in location while others see the massive expansion plans as an opportunity for larger attractions.

To give people an idea of how much they are spending in Japan. The entire Harry Potter section across Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Orlando is about 450 million dollars.
 

weekev

Banned
Man, I'm planning a trip to Orlando with the kids in 2020, would be perfect if it was ready at the same time.
 

Bert

Member
What I want:

MK go kart track where the go karts can run over power ups that flash up on a screen on your kart. You can then slow people down, mess with their steering, stop the guy in front of you, etc. Even better make the track with LEDs so oil spills and bananas can be shown.

Star Fox hanging rollercoaster with laser gun.

Metroid laser quest style arena

Splatoon paintball arena

AC kids play area

RC Wave Race lake

Pokemon Snap smartphone AR throughout the area

Smash stages pugle stick soft play arena
 

thefro

Member
Is there any reason why Nintendo went with Universal and not Disney for this?


Here's what Iwata said in May 2015:

Satoru Iwata said:
If I can talk a bit more about our just-announced alliance with Universal Parks & Resorts, we first met with them in April last year when I was visiting the U.S. on a business trip. We met with people from NBCUniversal who proposed the possibility of the theme park business to us. Even before then, the possibility of theme park attractions (with Nintendo IP) had become an often-discussed topic in society. Even inside Nintendo, the possibility had been discussed several times. But we had not made this a reality because, on each occasion, the time was not ripe yet or we were not able to find an appropriate partner with whom to work. In the case of our first meeting with Universal Parks & Resorts, they provided us with a very detailed proposal right from the beginning. Also, as we met right after they had opened the Harry Potter attractions, we were able to learn precisely how they had been created. We received a great deal of useful information from the first meeting for us to review if they possessed a corporate culture which would ensure us the ability to license our IP to them and to work well together. Since the proposal was so specific, as soon as I returned to Japan, I informed Mr. Miyamoto, of our company, and told him that I wanted to give positive consideration to it. Since then, we have met with them several times in Japan and in the U.S., and not only me and people who carry out our negotiations but also members from each company's creative side, namely, people who will be assigned to make the actual attractions and Nintendo's game producers who have been creating our games for many years. As a result, we confirmed that we share a lot of common ground between our corporate cultures, and because parts of the proposal made us really excited, we have decided to work together on a long-term basis.

Also keep in mind Universal Studios Japan is only an hour away from Nintendo's HQ, so they're basically local for Nintendo.
 

Nanashrew

Banned
Also keep in mind Universal Studios Japan is only an hour away from Nintendo's HQ, so they're basically local for Nintendo.

I never realized it was that close. Now I have a picture in my head of random Nintendo employees suddenly taking a day off from work to have fun at the theme park just across the way.
 
I love this idea but I wonder how popular Nintendo will be 4 years from now. I don't mean that in a doom and gloom sense. They have world famous IP and a great legacy, that's not going to change. But 4 years from now we will have the NX and know pretty well whether it has been successful or not. We'll have seen Nintendo's mobile efforts and how they fared. We'll see their other IP licensing deals. By the time this theme park opens, Nintendo could be a very different looking company.

I think their IP is timeless enough to withstand anything that happens to their hardware business.
 
I think their IP is timeless enough to withstand anything that happens to their hardware business.
Yup. There's a reason Universal, Sony, and Disney (among many others) have all expressed a lot of interest in getting a piece of the Nintendo pie, one way or another.

At the end of the day Nintendo could transition to purely an IP holder built around licensing and still live on forever with lucrative deals. Mario's not just going to disappear.

Not that I think they'd be forced to take such a route any time remotely soon. I'm just saying that no matter what, their IP will remain relevant and valuable. Which I think they're just finally starting to understand and leverage with deals like this one. Which will in turn help keep the rest of their business relevant.
 

kiri

Member
Looking at that map and knowing the layout of USJ, that's not really a huge expansion.

Knowing the size of the Monster Hunter hanger/area, this new red area I could see including one or two small hangers and rollercoaster with some tight bends or something more vertical.
 

pswii60

Member
if Nintendo is smart, they can use it to push NX handheld too

Eg receive some spotpass freebies, use the NX as a digital map, some mini games which you can play with your NX there that will win you prizes etc
You're assuming the NX handheld will be relevant in 2020.
 

OmegaDL50

Member
I love this idea but I wonder how popular Nintendo will be 4 years from now. I don't mean that in a doom and gloom sense. They have world famous IP and a great legacy, that's not going to change. But 4 years from now we will have the NX and know pretty well whether it has been successful or not. We'll have seen Nintendo's mobile efforts and how they fared. We'll see their other IP licensing deals. By the time this theme park opens, Nintendo could be a very different looking company.

Nintendo has been in business since the late 1880's or such and generally always been about entertainment in some fashion. From playing cards and gambling related ventures. For being around a 100+ years they haven't even gotten into Electronic Gaming / Video Gaming until the late 1970's, which by their company history, is relatively recent.

4 years really isn't a lot of time, especially in the Video Game space. Even if the NX fails. Nintendo is not going anywhere, anytime soon, nor will they likely change their overall image as mainly as a company focused on entertainment.
 

OmegaDL50

Member
Nintendo has a golden opportunity to turn the fictional into true reality.

Can you imagine a custom go-kart track and the actual karts and the real life track layout is based on an actual Mario Kart Circuit!

This would be perfect for a Theme Park thing.

Luigi's Haunted Mansion~

Ohh, Nice, this also an excellent idea. Or even Ghost House populated with Hologram Boos that pop up everywhere and stuff.
 

Blues1990

Member
Wonder how many rides they'll get for $400m.

It would depend on the franchises that will represent the theme park, along with the retail space that is being offered.

Here's my guess for the most well known franchises that will be a focus at the park:


  • Super Mario Bros.
  • The Legend of Zelda
  • Kirby
  • Pikmin
  • Animal Crossing
  • Donkey Kong
  • Fire Emblem
  • Pokemon (IF the Pokemon Company is willing to cooperate)
 
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