Nintendo has recently revealed in a recent shareholder’s meeting that they want to have Super Nintendo World up and running before the Olympics in Japan in 2020. Super Nintendo World would be part of Universal Studios Japan, where it will obtain its own area within the park. Afterward, they will expand Super Nintendo World to Universal Studios in Hollywood and Orlando.
During the shareholder’s meeting, which we also covered last week, former CEO Kimishima and Shigeru Miyamoto were given a question on whether they thought the theme park and the sale of Nintendo products would have any synergy at all. Shareholders were concerned that people would just visit the theme park and that that would be it. As a company, they need to make profits when making a big investment, such as creating a theme park area.
Miyamoto responded by saying “To address the concerns behind this question, I think that we can expect to see synergies. A lot of people who are mothers and fathers today are from a generation that grew up playing Super Mario, and they are now playing products like Nintendo Labo together with their own children. There are a lot of families like this not just in Japan, but also around the world. When such families visit these theme parks to experience Nintendo’s worlds that have been carefully crafted and to interact with our
characters, I think we can expect to see synergy with our dedicated video game platform business.”
They probably have plans to open a whole bunch of shops around the area that will sell Nintendo products such as Amiibo, dolls, and plushies, similarly to how Disney handles this strategy. Nintendo game and theme parks also seem like a combination that would completely work. Both are geared towards adults as well as children, and Nintendo’s cheerful gameworlds would make for great decorations in the Nintendo area.
I think most Nintendo fans can’t wait to actually visit their childhood games. If Nintendo pulls of Super Nintendo World it could lead to a whole number of Nintendo theme parks around the world, and with Nintendo’s complete focus on family fun, I don’t see how they could fail.
