Nintendo is building an entertainment empire, and it all started with Mario

Over the past few years, video games have largely infiltrated pop culture.Everyone seems to want a piece: Favorite franchises like halo, last survivorand League of LegendsThere are popular TV shows, and Netflix is ​​trying to make gaming the backbone of its future. a lot of gamble characteristic yes exist adaptation Movie and TV It’s hard to keep track. Nintendo is also involved.and Switch sales remain strongcompany Just opened its second theme park attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood will Will be posting the first one soon super mario bros. cartoon. For Nintendo’s leadership, the shift to the broader entertainment landscape was a natural one.

“I think people see Nintendo as a game company,” explained Nintendo senior management executive Shinya Takahashi. “But we’ve always thought of ourselves as an entertainment company.”

Of course, this isn’t entirely new territory.Nintendo releases much-maligned live-action Super Mario the 1993 film, and Mario and The Legend of Zelda Animated series that faded after the Mario craze of the 90s. But the latest projects are part of a larger move by Nintendo to expand beyond the company’s best-known console and handheld games.things started and Super Mario Run on the move And it gets bigger from there with theme parks and movies.

One of Nintendo’s big shifts this time around is the company’s increased involvement with these outside projects. Mario Especially creator Shigeru Miyamoto, basically involved in everythingcommitted to mario runproduced animated films, and helped lead the creation of Super Nintendo World in Osaka and Osaka (where it debuted) and Los Angeles.

For Miyamoto, all of these projects point to a similar goal, however different they are. “I think the intended effect of it is to introduce and provide more opportunities and touchpoints for people to interact with Mario and learn about Mario,” he said of the theme park. Meanwhile, Takahashi said the goal is to reach as many people as possible through the park. “It’s not about a specific age group or a specific target audience, but it’s for everyone, whether they know Mario through the game, or kids who’ve never played a game before,” he explained.

A big part of making these projects successful is finding the right partners.For the movie, Nintendo is teaming up with Illumination – the animation studio behind the franchise despicable Me and this The Secret Life of Pets – while Universal Creative is building a theme park. Takahashi said the partnership with Universal was reached after much discussion, which made him realize that the two companies were on the same page. “When we talk about the creation of things, whether it’s things in games or physical objects that move in the real world, the two teams’ philosophies match up,” he explained. “That’s when we understood we had the right partnership.”

It also helps that “there are a lot of Nintendo fans on the Universal creative team,” Takahashi said. “And because they understood our purpose, they were able to incorporate it into the project.” (The feeling was mutual. Takahashi visited Universal Studios Hollywood more than two decades ago back to the Future ride. )

This collaboration is evident when you visit the park. Super Nintendo World is as detailed as any other Universal Studios attraction, and is largely separated from the rest of the park – you enter via the via tube – for an extra layer of immersion. The lifelike rendition of Mushroom Kingdom includes goombas and pokeys running down the hills surrounding the attraction, menacingly moving thwomps and piranha plants, and question blocks that you can tap (while wearing an NFC bracelet) to collect coins.

Even the bathrooms are a good fit, and look (and sound) so they feel like the original underwater levels super mario brosThe same goes for the Toadstool Cafe, where you can enjoy mushroom soup followed by tiramisu, while listening to Chef Toad scream. “I’m excited to be a part of this project because it’s such an immersive environment,” says Executive Chef Julia Thrash, a veteran of the theme park culinary world. “It’s not just about the food, but how we incorporate food into everything.” (To maintain the immersion, during our conversation, Thrash repeatedly referred to the toad—the fictional restaurateur who greets you as you enter—as a a real person.)

As someone who grew up trying to find every secret in an NES game, super mario world, the attention to detail in Super Nintendo World is almost surreal. It really felt like the eight-bit world I grew up in came to life. Part of that has to do with the park’s design, which is so inclusive that it’s easy to forget that the Jurassic World and Transformers rides are just outside. But it’s also true to everything: the movement of the creatures, the sound and musical cues, and the details in Bowser’s Castle – like a Bob-omb factory where you can see the iconic creature being made, or a mushroom-filled Tales of the Library Kingdom – Waiting in line just for you to find out is all worth it. The only time I felt like I was pulled out of the experience was when my go-kart was pulled back into the loading area after the ride and the staff applauded.

That all-encompassing experience is becoming the standard for modern theme parks, whether Galactic Star Cruiser or colorful world of pandoraWhat’s different about Super Nintendo World–Nintendo at heart–is that it’s fun.While there is only one main ride, strong augmented reality effects Mario Kart, there are various mini-games and attractions that allow you to earn coins and chase high scores for the online leaderboard. There are many secrets to unravel, such as the eight characters hidden in the walls, and there’s even a story that ties them all together. In order to fight Bowser Jr. (basically the park’s final boss) to free the stolen coins, you first have to collect three keys by completing challenges so you can use the wristband to unlock his dungeon.

Currently, the park is entirely focused on Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom.But there is a good chance that will change in the future; there is already a Donkey Kong-Osaka theme area under construction. That’s part of the reason it’s called Super Nintendo World.According to Takahashi, other properties are also taken into consideration, such as splatter fighter, it makes the most sense to start with Mario. “When you think of Nintendo, you think of Mario,” he said. “He’s the pivot that everything revolves around.” He added, “The reason we’re focusing on Mario is we want to see how we can really and truly bring this world to life, so that’s why we’re focusing on one IP right now. .”

Now that Nintendo has opened its second park (there are also planned versions in Florida and Singapore), Takahashi says the experience has really given people a sense of Mario’s popularity. “We know Mario is beloved by fans of the game,” he said. “But having the park really helped us understand that Mario is loved by non-gamers, too.” For Miyamoto, seeing the park enjoyed by an audience less familiar with video games was particularly instructive. “There are actually a lot of people who know who Mario is, but have never played the game, or at all. real Know who Mario is,” he said.

It’s unclear where Nintendo might go from here. Some of Nintendo’s new franchises, Takahashi said, like splatter warrior or arms, are an important part of its expansion into new media, but no plans have been announced for them yet. At the same time, Miyamoto was interested in exploring the concept of interactivity in new ways. He’s particularly interested in the idea of ​​continuing to merge technology and entertainment, as he did with Super Nintendo World. “It’s something I’m really lucky and excited to be at that crossroads,” he said.

Despite Nintendo’s close ties to video games, it’s clear that they’re far from the company’s only priority. You can already become a Mario fan without touching the controllers; there are so many ways to interact with the little guy, whether it’s a mobile game or a real-world attraction designed to immerse you in the Mushroom Kingdom.For Miyamoto, each is as important as traditional Super Mario release. It doesn’t matter how you discover the character, what matters is whether you discover him or not.

“The important thing is that Nintendo’s philosophy is deeply rooted in people’s hearts,” he said.