Nintendo Coming to Universal Parks

[rhino4evr]

considering Wreck it Ralph had Nintendo characters (not Mario of course, way too expensive)...I always assumed that Disney would be the one to shell out the cash for Nintendo in their theme parks if they decided to make a Wreck it Ralph ride...guess not.

I don't think any of the "nintendo" rides will be thrilling. I mean maybe, CiTH level of thrill. I just think this is a great IP for the much needed "kid" section of the park. As I have discussed many times, UOR and IOA are really in need of a state of the art "kids" area, that will appeal to all ages. Nintendo was a good choice.

 

[JLaw]

Considering they just announced a deal, attractions are probably a few years out. So this could play into a 3rd gate.

No way would they make a third gate only dedicated to Nintendo. Or even look into a 3rd gate just because they now have Nintendo.

 

[Mad Dog]

Like Teebin, the Nintendo stuff isn't my thing & doesn't really interest me. But it sure looks like you're all pretty much enthused by it, so I'm happy for you Nintendo fans. But, from all the indications that the insiders & Universal has put out the last few years, I would guess that these will be "family level" attractions. I don't think Universal is interested in the pure kids ride stuff. That would be Disney territory with their rumored Toy Story land in DHS that will probably be little kids rides like those lands in Paris & Hong Kong. I don't think Universal is really interested in the double stroller demographic. They are skewing towards family in addition to their regular teenage & young adult demographic, but not the real little tykes.

 

[Hockeyman55]

Like Teebin, the Nintendo stuff isn't my thing & doesn't really interest me. But it sure looks like you're all pretty much enthused by it, so I'm happy for you Nintendo fans. But, from all the indications that the insiders & Universal has put out the last few years, I would guess that these will be "family level" attractions. I don't think Universal is interested in the pure kids ride stuff. That would be Disney territory with their rumored Toy Story land in DHS that will probably be little kids rides like those lands in Paris & Hong Kong. I don't think Universal is really interested in the double stroller demographic. They are skewing towards family in addition to their regular teenage & young adult demographic, but not the real little tykes.

In all honesty what does Universal have to lose if they did decide to start going after the toddler demographic? They have the adult and teens covered and all it would do would chip more families with little ones away from Disney

 

[Macfr3ak]

nintendo is very protective of their ip. Universal must have blown them away to get them to agree, plus nintendo has been hurting financially

this!

 

[rhino4evr]

The thing is, most toddlers can't play videogames. So besides the "cute" looking characters. The idea that these are video game characters will probably be lost on them anyway

 

[Macfr3ak]

How would you make a mario ride though? Same princess is kidnapped plot? Simulator? Any dialogue? too strange

it has worked for taken? I'm sure it can work for Mario LMFAO!

 

[GadgetGuru]

While everyone has been (rightfully) talking about Mario, I think the real star of this will end up being Pokemon. I would reckon that Pokemon has more cultural power than Mario does. There's been many movies, a decade's worth of TV shows, and a hugely successful trading card game. It has gone downhill from its peak, but I think there's a lot more nostalgia towards Pikachu than Mario or Luigi. The upcoming generation (20-somethings) look at Pokemon the same way that the prior generation looked at... well, I can't think of a great example. But, Pokemon already has a huge following.

Plus, merch. Look at how much merch is out there and how much there was at Peak Pokemon. The entire series lends itself to merchandising to a much greater extent than anything in the Mario franchise.

 

[fryoj]

I don't think this will run all the way through kidzone and to into the MIB plot because of logistics more than anything. To do that, they would just about to have to cut off backstage access to Fast Food Boulevard. While thats not a big deal for rides, its not easy for a large scale restaurant like that. Not saying it's impossible either through tunnels/bridges or other methods, I just think its much more likely that they design it into two separate areas, or just leave MIB plot open for future expansion.

 

[Mad Dog]

In all honesty what does Universal have to lose if they did decide to start going after the toddler demographic? They have the adult and teens covered and all it would do would chip more families with little ones away from Disney

I don't think they're trying to compete with Disney. They have a good business plan & they're doing their own thing. Sometimes it's not wise to be all things for all kinds. Besides, Disney owns the toddler demo. I believe it's better business for Universal to have a "family" area as opposed to a"kids" area. It's more inclusive and lends itself to better attractions and better theming. Universal will get some of the families with young children, but leave the under 6 crowd to Disney, and get more attendance with family rides than kids rides........Besides, who wants all those double wide strollers destroying shins and toes. LOL

 

[Cole]

Here's another thing I'm worried about although I doubt it'll ever happen. I really REALLY hope they use normal look instead of a garbage, throwback retro pixel look. Like I know that's such a little chance of happening but with nintendos obsession with nostalgia and movies like wreck it Ralph and pixels taking pride in that style, you can't help but worry

 

[quinnmac000]

Here's another thing I'm worried about although I doubt it'll ever happen. I really REALLY hope they use normal look instead of a garbage, throwback retro pixel look. Like I know that's such a little chance of happening but with nintendos obsession with nostalgia and movies like wreck it Ralph and pixels taking pride in that style, you can't help but worry

I highly doubt they would go with 8bit considering not all their IPs were around back then....The purpose and reasoning Nintendo even agreed to this deal was to get people to buy more of their games and consoles as sales have gone down. Their goal isn't to make fun attractions, their goal is to create lands which drives people to want to buy their products which 8bit figures wont do and why I see Pokemon and Mario being the present and the main attractions to start with.

 

[maxairmike]

While everyone has been (rightfully) talking about Mario, I think the real star of this will end up being Pokemon. I would reckon that Pokemon has more cultural power than Mario does. There's been many movies, a decade's worth of TV shows, and a hugely successful trading card game. It has gone downhill from its peak, but I think there's a lot more nostalgia towards Pikachu than Mario or Luigi. The upcoming generation (20-somethings) look at Pokemon the same way that the prior generation looked at... well, I can't think of a great example. But, Pokemon already has a huge following.

Plus, merch. Look at how much merch is out there and how much there was at Peak Pokemon. The entire series lends itself to merchandising to a much greater extent than anything in the Mario franchise.

Yep, Pokemon would be huge in the parks. I'll admit at 26 I still pull out a GBA and play Red/Yellow/Pinball every now and then, had GBA4iOS to play the Pokemon games (until Apple killed the side loading trick), and have a GameBoy emulator on my laptop solely for the purpose of playing Pokemon games. I loved the series up through Gold/Silver, and that's when they lost me. The new generation of monsters didn't do anything for me, so I moved on. I still have a thick binder filled with pages of cards (including a few holographic Japanese cards) and could probably sit down and shake off the rust of the card game if I wanted. My generation has Pokemon firmly ingrained in our memories, I have yet to meet anyone in my age bracket that doesn't at least have a really good understanding of what Pokemon is/are, nerds, jocks, everyone.

 

[alomar]

I am a gamer, ever since I was a kid. I can see some possibilities with this, and trust Universal. But overall, this is very "meh" to me. Once they have a solid plan, and we get an idea of what they are planning, I may come around. But just seems odd, and out of place.

 

[graspthesun]

While everyone has been (rightfully) talking about Mario, I think the real star of this will end up being Pokemon. I would reckon that Pokemon has more cultural power than Mario does. There's been many movies, a decade's worth of TV shows, and a hugely successful trading card game. It has gone downhill from its peak, but I think there's a lot more nostalgia towards Pikachu than Mario or Luigi. The upcoming generation (20-somethings) look at Pokemon the same way that the prior generation looked at... well, I can't think of a great example. But, Pokemon already has a huge following.

Plus, merch. Look at how much merch is out there and how much there was at Peak Pokemon. The entire series lends itself to merchandising to a much greater extent than anything in the Mario franchise.

Can you imagine building a Pokemon Center and a PokeMart right next to each other with Professor Oak's house and a Gym? Amazing. My best friend would turn over his life savings to experience that in real life and I'd probably throw a considerable amount of money at it too.

I feel like the MIB expansion plot is a safer spot to put all this. Keep the kid section open till this opens and then raze the whole Kidzone section and let it lay fallow for a while while they figure out what they want to do with it. Do an overlay of Luigi's Mansion or Pokemon Snap on the current MIB ride, so you can keep the mechanics, but make it even more than it is now. Most importantly, give ET some breathing room for a few more years, remove FFL and keep a people eating show like Animal Actors for a little while longer.

I am concerned about HHN. I go to Universal once a year and it's for that. I really hope this doesn't adversely affect HHN during construction and, frankly, just by existing.

 

[*Q*]

I think some of you are really overestimating Pokemon's reach.

 

[Tobias]

Nintendo is VERY protective of their IP. Universal must have blown them away to get them to agree

Pretty much this, considering Nintendo keeps their IP's very close to their chest they wouldn't give them out to just anyone. Universal definitely has something special planned. Also, the fact that Nintendo doesn't give their IP's to anyone does throw one of the biggest wrenches amongst others on the "Replacing Marvel" idea that others are desperately trying to push. Nintendo ain't the kind of company that would give out their IP's just for a simple overlay. Just sayin'.

 

[quinnmac000]

I think some of you are really overestimating Pokemon's reach.

It was the best selling nintendo game of last year outselling all of the Mario games. It made 2 Billion dollars for the Nintendo company...no one is overreaching when it comes to Pokemon in popularity. Even the cartoons are still popular to this day after 17 years of being on the air, they still show new ones on Cartoon Network

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/20...ifetime_series_game_sales_at_over_270_million

 

[Andy]

Characters and properties to keep an eye on IMO...

Mario and Luigi
Princess Toadstool
Bowser
Donkey Kong
Diddy Kong
Metroid
Link and Princess Zelda
Pokemon

 

[boomerthom]

Characters and properties to keep an eye on IMO...

Mario and Luigi
Princess Toadstool
Bowser
Donkey Kong
Diddy Kong
Metroid
Link and Princess Zelda
Pokemon

Hmm. Metroid is the odd one out here in terms of popularity. It's my favorite Nintendo IP so I'd love to see some representation in the parks...but I'm not holding my breath. Would be great though!