Travel and Leisure – March 9, 2016 – As if we needed another reason to head to Japan, news outlet Sankei is reporting that Nintendo and Universal Parks will open their first joint venture, a theme park featuring gamers’ favorite world’s and characters, in Osaka, Japan—probably by 2020.
Nintendo announced their plans to team up with Universal for a string of amusement parks in May of last year, promising imaginative attractions populated by Nintendo’s famous characters, but details have been sparse. We now know they are hoping to complete the park in time to host the crowds of game lovers visiting the country for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
In addition, Sankei reported that the park will have a Super Mario focus, which hopefully means a ride on a Mario Kart racetrack and a trip through Luigi’s haunted mansion will be available in the near future. The park will also feature attractions based on Pokémon, the Legend of Zelda, and even Donkey Kong. No word on a Splatoon shooting gallery, though.
Universal is investing up to ¥40 billion (nearly $352 million) into the project, which Fortunepoints out is $87 million more than they reportedly spent building the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida.
Asia is quickly becoming a must-visit destination for amusement park lovers. Not only is there the Tokyo Disney Resort and a possible virtual reality theme park in China, but Ubisoft, the makers of video games like “Assassin’s Creed” and “Just Dance” are opening a 10,000- square meter park in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2020.