Universal Studios Japan’s new Super Nintendo World opens in February and we’re already jealous of it and its AR Mario Kart game.
The park offered a tiny glimpse of the new attraction, which opens on February 4th, today. The world is entirely themed around the company’s beloved creations, including a Mario Kart ride that uses AR headsets. Bloomberg has an early look at the attraction in the video below.
Japan’s #SuperNintendoWorld will open on Feb. 4, 2021 in Osaka.@rumireports gets a world’s first look at @USJ_Official‘s real-life #Mario Kart. More: https://t.co/T9nUMnB1UB #任天堂 pic.twitter.com/oZku1gwQTj
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) November 30, 2020
We couldn’t tell you exactly which AR headset that is but we definitely approve of the Mario branding. A roughly translated press release explains that guests will “throw the swords they got from the item box” in the ride, so it looks like the AR element will be interactive. The ride is on-rails and seemingly pits two karts against each other.
Interestingly this is the third time we’ve seen Mario Kart paired with VR and AR tech. A few years back Bandai Namco brought the series to VR headsets in arcades with an incredible, short experience. And just last month Nintendo launched Mario Kart Live, a Nintendo Switch AR game that uses cameras on RC cars to turn living rooms into virtual race tracks. The potential to see the company expand its VR and AR offerings through location-based entertainment is certainly intriguing.
Will you be heading to Super Nintendo World whenever it’s safe to do so? Let us know in the comments below!
