Nintendo is building a life-size video game theme park in Japan, where visitors will compete against one another and visit familiar ‘Super Mario’ locations

• Nintendo is building a theme park at the Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan, that is being billed as a “life-size, living video game.”
• Super Nintendo World is expected to give visitors wristbands and a smartphone app that will allow them to compete against other visitors and collect gold coins — though it’s not entirely clear how.
• After the Osaka park opens, Universal plans to open three more Super Nintendo Worlds in California, Florida, and Singapore.
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Nintendo is building a cross between a video game and a theme park at the Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan.

During a press briefing on Tuesday, Universal Studios Japan and Nintendo teased the new Super Nintendo World theme park, due to open ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Thierry Coup, the chief creative officer of Universal Creative, described the attraction as a “life-size, living video game.”

Visitors to the park are expected to get an electronic wristband called a “Power-Up Band,” which will apparently allow them to collect coins and compete with other visitors in tandem with an app on their phone. It’s possible augmented reality will form part of the experience.

The Bloomberg reporter Kurumi Mori was at the briefing and shared a picture of the wristbands.

Bloomberg reports that the attraction has been developed with the help of the legendary Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and will feature familiar locations from the Mario universe like the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach’s Castle, and Bowser’s Fortress.

Universal has previously confirmed there will be a Mario Kart ride in the park, and, according to Bloomberg, visitors will also be given a mission to retrieve a golden mushroom from Bowser Jr.

Once Osaka’s Super Nintendo World has opened, further parks are planned in Los Angeles; Orlando, Florida; and Singapore, though no opening dates have been tied to these projects.

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