Nintendo's popular Mario franchise is everywhere. The character has appeared in film, television, books, gaming and more. Now, the gaming company wants to take him to the next level and build a Mario theme park attraction.
Nintendo announced a partnership with Universal Parks and Resorts on Thursday to bring Mario to their properties in a way that would create immersive experiences with the gaming company's characters.
"We've long been considering the theme-park business as a possibility provided we could find a good partner," Nintendo Chief Executive Satoru Iwata expressed during the press conference, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Nintendo's 2015 earnings have been "better-than-expected... including its first annual operating profit in four years, helped by strong sales of games for the latest version of its hand-held 3DS gaming device and a weaker yen" reports the Wall Street Journal.
This new partnership is interesting, because it will open up some new opportunities for Nintendo fans who have wanted to enter into the Mario world. It also appears that Mario won't be the only potential Nintendo property to earn its own attraction inside a theme park. Users could also see characters from the Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Animal Crossing or Donkey Kong franchises make an appearance too.
Nintendo has not released information about what the parks will include, which parks its characters will appear in or when the properties will begin development. All we do know is that Nintendo is giving us another reason to visit Universal Studios in the near future.
While the Universal Studios partnership was probably the most exciting thing to come out of Nintendo's latest press event, the game company also elaborated on their plans to bring its popular games to mobile devices.
