Nintendo Coming to Universal Parks

[Mike S]

Let me just say that Universal needs to go all out with this. Nintendo Land has been so many peoples dreams. You go to the Nitendo Store in NYC and see people spending hundreds of dollars on shirts, stuffed pokemons, etc. The store just reopened about two weeks ago and the line stretched down blocks. How many children do you see in that line?






This area needs to satisfy children and adults. This has the potential to be bigger than Harry Potter.

There was also a line out the door just to get a Jigglypuff amiibo last June. I know cause I was there by pure coincidence to witness it. It also shows that Uni would be very smart to have Nintendo stores in the various CityWalks.

 

[pat_naughty05]

I was in New York this weekend, and the Nintendo store is definitely very popular. We stopped by on Saturday for a while and you can definitely see the range of fans that Nintendo has. One of the really cool features of the store was having all of the consoles and handhelds from the company's history on display. It would be really cool to see something like this in the park.

Also, our driver passed by the store a few minutes before opening on our way to the airport yesterday, and there was a line waiting for the place to open. I don't think anything special was going on, but I could be mistaken.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Osaka was never planned on coming before Orlando's version from what I understand.

 

[Mike S]

Osaka was never planned on coming before Orlando's version from what I understand.

So could this mean an announcement is imminent?

 

[GadgetGuru]

I was standing in the Nintendo NY grand opening line, so I want to give a little context.

The line was around 8-10 hours long. Yeah, that long. Most of that was because of excessively poor planning by store management. They let in very, very few people at any given time, had a meet-and-greet that was poorly planned, and didn't force people out. Once people got inside, they were either stuck in the M&G line for a couple more hours, or weren't inclined to leave. That meant the line was artificially long. The next day, I was able to walk into the store with absolutely no wait or issue.

The crowd was younger and a mix of high-schoolers (a lot of them) and 20-somethings.

That last part interests me. For HP, the hard-core fandom really goes across every age group. For Nintendo, the most passionate fans are children, or high-school/20-something gamers. These aren't very wealthy demographics. It'll be interesting to see how Universal's land will change this.

EDIT: I grammared wrong. Those demographics are not very wealthy.

 

[Mad Dog]

I was standing in the Nintendo NY grand opening line, so I want to give a little context.

The line was around 8-10 hours long. Yeah, that long. Most of that was because of excessively poor planning by store management. They let in very, very few people at any given time, had a meet-and-greet that was poorly planned, and didn't force people out. Once people got inside, they were either stuck in the M&G line for a couple more hours, or weren't inclined to leave. That meant the line was artificially long. The next day, I was able to walk into the store with absolutely no wait or issue.

The crowd was younger and a mix of high-schoolers (a lot of them) and 20-somethings.

That last part interests me. For HP, the hard-core fandom really goes across every age group. For Nintendo, the most passionate fans are children, or high-school/20-something gamers. These are very wealthy demographics. It'll be interesting to see how Universal's land will change this.

I see Nintendo as a very popular land in Universal Orlando. But not Harry Potter level. The only IP out there that I think could equal Harry Potter, and that's if it is done right, is Star Wars. But Nintendo should do very well.

 

[*Q*]

For Nintendo, the most passionate fans are children, or high-school/20-something gamers. These are very wealthy demographics. It'll be interesting to see how Universal's land will change this.

I would include 30-somethings in that, the generation that grew up with the NES and SNES.

 

[quinnmac000]

I

That last part interests me. For HP, the hard-core fandom really goes across every age group. For Nintendo, the most passionate fans are children, or high-school/20-something gamers. These aren't very wealthy demographics. It'll be interesting to see how Universal's land will change this.

EDIT: I grammared wrong. Those demographics are not very wealthy.

Right now they aren't wealthy but when they start a family they will be more likely to go to Universal with Nintendo/Harry Potter than Disney which I think is what Comcast is now focusing on with the IPs they are choosing.

 

[IzzyB]

Right now they aren't wealthy but when they start a family they will be more likely to go to Universal with Nintendo/Harry Potter than Disney which I think is what Comcast is now focusing on with the IPs they are choosing.

I think it depends on the age of their kids. I grew up in NES/SNES time frame and I love Nintendo. Most of my friends are the same way. But the honest truth is we go where our kids want to go. And until the kids are old enough to care about Nintendo or HP those families will continue to go to Disney. So I don't think it will change things a ton. I have friends into HP and they don't go to Universal yet because their kids are not into thrill things, like at all. Their kids are 5 and 8. They said someday they will do Universal, until then they stay on Disney property, buy merch, get the dining plan, and come down once a year.

 

[Yabbadabba Doh]

Personally I am on the other side of the fence now with teenage kids. I was in my 20's around SNES days and I am a Nintendo fan. We are planning a Universal trip this year for Simpsons (obviously, see avatar), Potter, and Kong but would definitely take another trip when Nintendo rolls out. This will actually be our first Orlando excursion without setting foot in Disney. We were there last in 2014 and aside from SDMT there is really nothing new to see.

 

[Macfr3ak]

I hope there are no "games" in the queue. They come off as tacky

not your traditional offerings but something innovative would be welcomed by me...


On the conversation of E3 announcements.. might not be the smartest choice for Nintendo however i see that as a MAJOR plus for Universal as a major target audience they want is all eyes and ears and those would be the first ones lining up to see their favorite gaming world made a reality. I think its totally plausible. Hey other companies waste a great deal of time show casing TV shows their working on and the likes.. this could be that segment for them. Perhaps im being biased in saying it would work cause hey i love both worlds and combined? a dream come true. lol New console and a new real game world HELL YES.

Its crazy to think this could be a big big blow to Disney's plans i hope they do it (announce on a grand stage like E3).. Universal is pretty ballsy lately rightfully so i hope they continue the trend.

 

[GadgetGuru]

I'd love to see a big E3 announcement, but I personally don't think it'll happen. Audiences haven't been very responsive to non-gaming announcements there in the past. The Xbox One launch at E3 was hyped up with talks of apps, media integrations, and very little gaming news. The internet panned the console and that (I feel) led to a less-than-stellar launch a couple months later.

 

[IzzyB]

Its crazy to think this could be a big big blow to Disney's plans i hope they do it (announce on a grand stage like E3).. Universal is pretty ballsy lately rightfully so i hope they continue the trend.

Why does when and where Nintendo announce their stuff effect anything Disney is doing? I don't understand that one. Avatar, TSL, and SWL are coming and make no mistake, no matter what Universal does, those three things will be big for Disney and turn those turnstiles. Well in Disney's case scan those bands

If people are interested in both Nintendo and Star Wars, they will most likely go to both. I don't think this will blow any of Disney's plans.

 

[Mike S]

I'd love to see a big E3 announcement, but I personally don't think it'll happen. Audiences haven't been very responsive to non-gaming announcements there in the past. The Xbox One launch at E3 was hyped up with talks of apps, media integrations, and very little gaming news. The internet panned the console and that (I feel) led to a less-than-stellar launch a couple months later.

I don't know, a theme park land seems like it would be much better received than multimedia apps. People want to know about it and I think E3 would be the perfect platform for it especially if they went back to a live conference this year.

 

[Macfr3ak]

Why does when and where Nintendo announce their stuff effect anything Disney is doing? I don't understand that one. Avatar, TSL, and SWL are coming and make no mistake, no matter what Universal does, those three things will be big for Disney and turn those turnstiles. Well in Disney's case scan those bands

If people are interested in both Nintendo and Star Wars, they will most likely go to both. I don't think this will blow any of Disney's plans.

Nothing against them or what their doing. Just rooting for an underdog in a race that is evident between the two giants. Same way you root for the Steelers and i root for the U it's a team i sided with and make no mistake i admire Disney and have Disney to thank for the theme park enthusiast i am today and own a Disney annual pass. I love the properties that they're bringing i just think Universal has the opportunity to implement their future announcements in a way that will provide more gain to them.

I am one who will personally enjoy both but i hope Universal's projects blow everything else out of the water cause i hope for the success to continue living this exciting time to be a theme-park fan it has truly added fuel to an area that truly needed.

 

[IzzyB]

Nothing against them or what their doing. Just rooting for an underdog in a race that is evident between the two giants. Same way you root for the Steelers and i root for the U it's a team i sided with and make no mistake i admire Disney and have Disney to thank for the theme park enthusiast i am today and own a Disney annual pass. I love the properties that they're bringing i just think Universal has the opportunity to implement their future announcements in a way that will provide more gain to them.

I am one who will personally enjoy both but i hope Universal's projects blow everything else out of the water cause i hope for the success to continue living this exciting time to be a theme-park fan it has truly added fuel to an area that truly needed.

OK, so it is more of a hope than what you think will happen. It confused me because I don't think any announcement will effect either park. Both parks pretty much know what the other one is doing, it is a matter if they care or not about what the other one is doing.

 

[Fatality]

OK, so it is more of a hope than what you think will happen. It confused me because I don't think any announcement will effect either park. Both parks pretty much know what the other one is doing, it is a matter if they care or not about what the other one is doing.

And I really think they don't really care what the other is doing. Although, I do think Universal should try their damnest to make sure Nintendo is open by the time Star Wars is because it's a no brainer that that fandom would enjoy both.

Question: No doubt Star Wars will be hysteria day one a la Hogsmeade...but is anyone really expecting that for Toy Story or Avatar....?

 

[IzzyB]

And I really think they don't really care what the other is doing. Although, I do think Universal should try their damnest to make sure Nintendo is open by the time Star Wars is because it's a no brainer that that fandom would enjoy both.

Question: No doubt Star Wars will be hysteria day one a la Hogsmeade...but is anyone really expecting that for Toy Story or Avatar....?

I don't think that Avatar or Toy Story will be day one madness. I think the HP/Star Wars IPs are a rare breeds and there are not many like them. In fact for now I really think the two of them are on an Island all on their own. While Nintendo is big, it is no Star Wars or HP, so I don't expect day 1 madness of that either. I think Avatar and Nintendo will be wildly popular and I think they will both bring in huge crowd level spikes in attendance, but not HP or Star Wars levels. I also don't expect the lines for Star Wars that HP created mainly because Universal was just not used to that crowd level. They got a HUGE attendance increase because they were in the dark ages when HP was built. They didn't have the experience with those kinds of crowd levels. Disney while in a dark age of adding quality new things, is by no means in a dark age of attendance. They also tend to handle crowds better and because it is families that come most will not be down on weekend 1. The crowds will be a little more spread out over the year. Toy Story will be a nice addition to round out the park and I do think families will go to DHS to see it, I am not convinced they will make vacation plans to come and see it. But I do see DHS attendance getting a bump from it.

Also, keep in mind that Avatar along with all the night offerings is remaking Animal Kingdom. I don't think anyone should underestimate what all of that is doing to Animal Kingdom. I think this year will be a small bump, but some people may still skip AK this year in favor of seeing it next year when Avatar is here. Also, the HUGE thing Avatar and the other offerings will do is make AK a full day park. This is huge, because now guests can't go hopping to another park in the evening. This will add days to people's vacations. Which is really key to this addition.

 

[amityboattours]

I would include 30-somethings in that, the generation that grew up with the NES and SNES.

Totally this. Whilst I'm a bit of a lapsed Nintendo product purchaser these days, alongside many other more modern 'hardcore' (hate that term though) gamers in their late 30's, Nintendo WAS videogames when I was growing up.
Even today, though I'm perhaps not their targeted audience anymore, I still consider them the 'Disney' of videogames and massively respect the quality of the first-party games and products they put out.

 

[Macfr3ak]

OK, so it is more of a hope than what you think will happen. It confused me because I don't think any announcement will effect either park. Both parks pretty much know what the other one is doing, it is a matter if they care or not about what the other one is doing.

I believe they each know what the other is doing and care a great amount.. they specially care about whose going to put out the best product no matter the property being used. The quality of the experience will earn you repeated visits. Something that leaves you wanting more wont encourage a second visit. It obviously doesn't apply to many of us on this forum i think this is more for the general audience/ gaming audience that may not be too thrilled or familiar with theme parks.