Super Nintendo World is centered on Mario, but Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that there were talks about including Splatoon.
Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood is now available. While stepping through a warp pipe into a land dominated by Mario can be a magical experience, it is not Super Mario World. Mario is the main focus of Nintendo so it’s not surprising.
Game Rant asked Shigeru Miyamoto, Shinya Takahashi, and Shinya Takahashi why Nintendo decided to focus on Mario during a recent interview. There are some secrets in the park like a little Pikmin, but it is largely Mario.
Miyamoto acknowledged the slight difference between Super Nintendo World being called and Mario only being there. He explained that it was about having a focal point rather than being scattered.
“There was some discussion about adding IP like Splatoon but we decided that it would be better to have something specific and make something quality and good. We decided to start with Mario.
Splatoonis an extremely popular Nintendo IP. It’s easy to imagine what it would look like in an interactive theme park. Some Nintendo fans would like to see other IPs, such as Zelda and Pokemon, Pikmin, get similar treatment, but because the idea was to be narrowed, choosing Mario is the best choice. Mario has been on every Nintendo console. Mario is the one leading the charge for the company’s movie efforts, so it makes sense to use him as a theme park. Many fans want to see other Nintendo IPs receive similar treatment.
Nintendo and Universal Studios may one day incorporate elements from Splatoon into Super Nintendo World locations all around the globe. Super Nintendo World is a great place to expand, although nothing is confirmed at this time. Super Nintendo World Japan is currently developing a Donkey Kong expansion. It will open in 2024 and include a rollercoaster, food, and merch. It would be great to see something similar in Hollywood, however, it might not be as easy due to differences in the land size (the Hollywood area is smaller than Osaka). It makes sense to start with Mario, and then hopefully expand the park later.
Super Nintendo World is now open.