CNN correspondent Selina Wang visited the newly opened Super Nintendo World to show off the theme park and explain some of his COVID policies. She even managed to take a ride on the AR Mario Kart track, “Koopa’s Challenge,” which is more than many attendees will get – VGC noted that the queue was bigger than the park itself.
“I spoke to the attendees,” Wang said in the news segment, “and many of them have been playing Nintendo games since they were kids. Some of them say it’s really emotional to walk in there and actually see their kids games. . come to life. “
Originally, the park was supposed to open in the summer of 2020, to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics, but clearly that hasn’t happened. The fact that Japan is closed to international travel means that the park is not bringing in the huge numbers of tourists and boosting the country’s economy as originally planned.
Photo opportunities and other designated “mask-free zones” are strictly monitored to ensure that visitors keep their distance from each other and the park’s mascots and are not allowed to touch each other. Rather than the Disney-esque photos of kids embracing the costumed characters, you’re much more likely to get a photo of Mario and Luigi standing at a respectable distance, like awkward teens at a prom.
Wang notes that the park cost half a billion dollars and that the gaming industry as a whole made a lot of money during the pandemic as one of the few activities you can still do at home.
“For Nintendo, this is an important step beyond the core business of video games and consoles,” said Wang. “It cashes in on its wealth of intellectual property and iconic characters.” As a Reddit commenter puts it on the video, “In fact, Nintendo is printing money in an industry that is currently struggling,” referring to the theme park industry.