Universal Studios Hollywood opens brand-new Super Nintendo World

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Universal Studios Hollywood officially opened its Super Nintendo World to the public on Friday, a new highly-immersive and interactive theme land.

It is the first Nintendo-themed park in North America, and the second worldwide since the first one opened in Japan in 2021.

The new theme park is designed based on iconic video game Super Mario, which has given gamers worldwide many memorable moments. From traversing a world of pipes in Super Mario Bros to racing against friends and family in the beloved Mario Kart, gamers enjoy playing as various characters in the Super Mario world.

The new theme area is located within a newly expanded section of the Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles. It offers visitors a 360-degree experience of the Super Mario world in an immersive way based on the classic video game franchise.

The land features the new "Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge" ride and interactive activities designed to engage the entire Super Mario family within the captivating Mushroom Kingdom.

The ride fuses cutting-edge augmented reality (AR) with projection mapping technology and actual set pieces along a moving ride track. Visitors are seated in four-seat vehicles with special AR goggles as they battle Team Bowser on iconic Mario Kart courses alongside well-known characters -- Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach.

"The Super Nintendo World represents really a game change for us in terms of the next level of interactivity and connectivity, emerging into an experience all the way through, especially the Mario Kart with the argument reality and all the great areas you get to explore. It's very magical," Jon Corfino, vice president of Universal Creative, told Xinhua in an interview.

Visitors are immersing in something that they are very familiar with when being inside the new land, he said.

"You'll see kids and their grandparents coming through, just screaming because they're coming to a place where they've only known it on their game and now, they actually get here," Corfino said.