OSAKA —  Universal Studios Japan (USJ) opens on Thursday its $550-million, pandemic-delayed Super Mario-themed attraction in a major leap by games maker Nintendo Co. Ltd beyond the virtual world.

The addition in Osaka bulks up USJ’s roster of franchises, which include Minions and Jurassic Park, in its rivalry with Disney, with the moustachioed plumber also coming to other Universal parks worldwide.

Entering through a giant warp pipe, visitors to Super Nintendo World, a real-world version of games creator Shigeru Miyamoto’s Mushroom Kingdom, are met with chomping piranha plants, punchable coin blocks and a flag-topped Mount Beanpole. At the attraction, whose opening was delayed repeatedly from last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, visitors can buy a $30 “power-up band” which syncs with the park’s app to rank them as they gather coins and defeat baddies.

The wristband draws on the interactive wands in the Harry Potter attraction and Nintendo’s tradition of tactile gaming gadgets and aims to capitalize on Mario’s generation-spanning appeal to drive repeat visits to the park. — Reuters

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