OMG! UNI just has to build Princess Peach's Castle! And, a Mario Kart ride similar to RSR or TT -- a Mario Galaxy dark ride similar to Buzz Lightyear or TSM and a ride like Ratatouille and a really good Italian restaurant themed to Mario and Luigi.
Disney is not going to like this news, lol. I sensed some tension between Disney and Nintendo after Nintendo released Amiibo to compete with Disney's Infinity. I don't get the Amiibo thing -- at all.
I have always felt like Ninteno needed a theme park and this is the answer! Nintendo land would be an exceptional anchor for the rumored third gate, if not, Universal will need to make room somewhere.
ETA:
All of the media outlets have pick up on this story, I just saw it on my local news today!
This is from USA Today.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/05/07/nintendo-universal-theme-parks/70934606/
As for the deal between Nintendo and Universal, more details on "the immersive experiences ... will be announced in the future," the companies said in a short news release. "Nintendo has created remarkable and imaginative worlds filled with captivating stories and beloved characters. Now, for the first time, those stories and characters will be brought to life in entirely new ways – only at Universal theme parks," it said.
Sorry, but this sounds like it's a lot more than a little kiddie section for just for kids -- this is really a big deal. I just looked at the numbers and Universal seriously needs to go big with this.
TV personality Kristin Cavallari attends Nintendo's celebration of the launch of Super Mario 3D Land at Siren Studios on November 3, 2011 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Nintendo)
Harry Potter has sold over
450 million books. In contrast, Nintendo has sold over
684 million game consoles, not to mention, the number of games sold in the hundreds of millions, so this is way bigger than Harry Potter.
Overall, Nintendo is the number #1, game console manufacturer.
Total 'Home & Handheld' console sales:
- Nintendo - 683.94 million
- Sony - 443.69 million
- Microsoft - 118 million
- Sega - 87.5 million
- Atari - 35.77 million
Nintendo has out sold Sony by over
240 million consoles!
This is almost more than Sony, Microsoft, Sega and Atari combined!
The top twelve highest selling games of all times:
- Tetris - 2006 - Mobile - 100 million
- Wii Sports - 2006 - Wii - 82.54 million
- Grand Theft Auto V - 2013 - 45 million
- Super Mario Bros. - 1985 - Nintendo Entertainment System - 40.24 million
- Mario Kart Wii - 2008 - Wii -35.53 million
- Tetris - 1989 - Game Boy, Game Boy Color - 35 million
- Minecraft - 2009 - Windows, OS x, Linus, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, Playstation 4 - 34 million
- Wii Sports Resort - 2009 - Wii - 32.58 million
- New Super Mario Bros. - 2006 - Nintendo DS - 30.75 million
- Minecraft: Pocket Edition - 2011 - Mobile - 30 million
- Wii Play - 2006 - Wii - 28.82 million
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii - 2009 - Wii - 27.88 million
Eight of the top twelve selling video games of all time, belong to Nintendo -- which amounts to almost
70% of the list!
Nintendo Wii was revolutionary -- it redefined gaming. This game console is utilized in hospitals, retirement homes, schools, libraries, etc. Nintendo's brand and IP's are iconic.
This is such a huge honor for Universal, because Nintendo is super protective over their brand and IP. And, I totally forgot to give a shout out to Animal Crossing and Yoshi's island!
As an aside, people totally love video games. I can't wait to see Pixels - when it comes out on home video.
The trailer is hilarious, I love the scenes with Donkey Kong and Pac-Man, lol.