Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
Avid gamers may soon be able to hop into Mario’s kart or Star Fox’s Arwing spacecraft in real life, thanks to a new partnership between Nintendo and Universal that will see the two firms join forces to build theme park rides featuring the former’s characters and worlds.
The partnership was officially announced by both parties on Thursday, and there weren’t many details, the two companies promised to create “spectacular, dedicated experiences” based on the Japanese gaming giant’s intellectual properties at Universal theme parks worldwide.
According to Variety, this is the first deal of its kind for Nintendo, which they said traditionally has been extremely protective of its IP portfolio. In addition to rides, the website also hints that the agreement may see the likes of Mario and Donkey Kong appearing, in costume, at Universal parks in Hollywood; Orlando, Florida; Osaka, Japan; and Singapore.
Nintendo-themed movies, TV shows not out of the question
Wired explains that the move comes as part of a growing effort by Nintendo to expand its sphere of influence outside of the gaming world and to bring in more income by licensing more popular franchises such as Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda to third-parties.
On Thursday, the company announced its first yearly profit since 2011, reporting an operating income of approximately $207 million of sales of about $4.5 billion, and said that it expected to receive “a new source of revenue” from smartphone-based gaming applications due out later on this year. Nintendo previously announced a partnership with Japanese mobile software developer DeNA to bring games based on its IPs to Android and iOS devices.
In addition, Nintendo has reportedly suggested that it is open to creating video content based on its characters as well – hints that come weeks after the company denied rumors that it would be teaming up with Netflix to produce a live-action The Legend of Zelda TV series.
In its recently-released earning statement, Nintendo said that it would be taking “a more active approach” with projects outside the core gaming industry, including “visual content production and character merchandising” featuring some of its more popular characters and titles.
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