Super Nintendo World tends to focus on Mario’s franchise, but Shigeru Mishimoto has revealed there were discussions about Splatoon.
Super Nintendo World has opened at Universal Studios Hollywood. It’s a fantastic experience to walk through a warp pipe and enter a world dominated by Mario. Mario is, essentially, the face of Nintendo. So it comes as no surprise that the focus is on him.
Game Rant was able to ask Shigeru Mifmoto and Shinya Takahashi why Nintendo has chosen to make Mario their focus in a recent group interview. Although there are a few hidden gems in the theme park such as a Pikmin version, most of it is Nintendo.
Miyamoto recognized the small difference between Super Nintendo World calling it and Mario only there. She explained that it all came down to having a clear focus instead of being scattered.
“There was discussion about adding more IP like Splatoon. However, rather than being scattered, we thought it best to have something focused, and make something good that is quality and useful. Mario was chosen as our first choice.
Splatoonis very popular Nintendo IP. It is easy to imagine how it would look in an interactive park. Although some Nintendo fans wish to see other IPs such as Zelda Pokemon and Pikmin get similar treatment, it was clear that the focus of the project was Mario. Mario has been featured on every Nintendo console. Mario is also leading the company’s efforts on the movie front. Using Mario for a theme park makes perfect sense. However, there are many Nintendo IP fans who want similar treatment.
Nintendo, Universal Studios could one day include elements from Splatoon in one of the Super Nintendo World sites around the world. Super Nintendo World has lots of potential for expansion. But, nothing is known at the moment. Super Nintendo World Japan will soon open a Donkey Kong Extension. The expansion will include food and merchandise, as well as a roller coaster. The Hollywood location would welcome something similar, but it might not be so simple due to the differences in the size of the land (Osaka is somewhat larger than Hollywood). It is possible to expand the park by starting with Mario.
Super Nintendo World is now available.