Nintendo Coming to Universal Parks

[zg44]

There's always 2 separate factors: 1) value of IP in terms of brand recognition or box office/sales figures and 2) how translatable an IP is to theme parks.

On a scale of 1-10 for those two factors, very few IPs can get double 10s like Harry Potter or Jurassic or Mario. Plenty of stuff is a 10 in the first factor (Pokemon or Fast and Furious) but have various levels of issues in terms of translation to a similar size land.

Obviously Zelda is a fair bit weaker on the first factor than the above IPs, but in terms of translating to a theme park it's probably a 10 just because of how the games mostly emphasize a similar setting of a town around Zelda's castle.

 

[Imperius]

Pokémon is absolutely a 10 in both categories. It has everything needed to anchor a land in a theme park.

 

[jrn14]

From the Pokemon Go event this weekend. (I see no children).

 

[Alicia]

What I think is cool is that Donkey Kong will have as much a land within the Nintendo land as King Kong has in his whole land (if not more as far as offerings.)

 

[zg44]

Pokémon is absolutely a 10 in both categories. It has everything needed to anchor a land in a theme park.

The only thing that prevents Pokemon from being a 10 is that it doesn't have a natural setting that you can just recreate as an immersive experience like say Toadstool's Castle/Bowser's Keep or Hogwarts or Hyrule/Zelda's Castle or the meta of Jurassic Park/World. You have to create a separate experience. That's not a downside in a broader sense, but I don't think Kanto or Johto resonate as well outside of Japan.

But you can always just create an experience modeled off Pokemon regions regardless; that's what Disney is doing with Star Wars in creating a "new region" based off the various settings in the movies.

 

[Paulio]

So, a huge franchise like F&F just gets a ride, a Classic Uni property like Kong gets one ride, another Uni Property, the Tonight Show, gets one ride. But Nintendo's 3rd or lower ranked property Zelda is going to get a whole land on it's own? I just can't see that. In the leaked plans, they had Zelda as a corner of the land as a show in a moving theatre. That's where they slotted the property. I don't think they took it out because they thought it needed an E-ticket and a whole section of the park. They needed more room to do what they are doing.

These properties aren't really enough interest to support their own lands. Tonight Show doesn't really offer as much since it's just a show and Fast and Furious doesn't offer as much variety either. Skull Island would have been a perfect fit had not for the lack of available space at Islands of Adventure. A land like Zelda would be more interesting because it offers a lot of interesting settings and dynamics, like the Hyrule village and the castle. Perfect fit for Islands of Adventure and a possible replacement for the Lost Continent.

With that said, it's such a shame that Universal-owned IPs have been bastardized for filler 3d screen-simulator rides where non-Universal IPs such as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Mario Kart gets the top notch. Fast and Furious and King Kong deserves much better treatment. The last time they treat its own IP it deserved is the Mummy attractions in Orlando, Los Angeles, and Singapore.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

These properties aren't really enough interest to support their own lands. Tonight Show doesn't really offer as much since it's just a show and Fast and Furious doesn't offer as much variety either. Skull Island would have been a perfect fit had not for the lack of available space at Islands of Adventure. A land like Zelda would be more interesting because it offers a lot of interesting settings and dynamics, like the Hyrule village and the castle. Perfect fit for Islands of Adventure and a possible replacement for the Lost Continent.

With that said, it's such a shame that Universal-owned IPs have been bastardized for filler 3d screen-simulator rides where non-Universal IPs such as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Mario Kart gets the top notch. Fast and Furious and King Kong deserves much better treatment. The last time they treat its own IP it deserved is the Mummy attractions in Orlando, Los Angeles, and Singapore.

I would Argue that Kong at IOA is good as it is, as it does improve upon what was originally based for Hollywood; and that was more or less a way to make up for the loss of Hollywood's Kong.

It brought a cohesive story to the table, has one of the best queues in Orlando in terms of theming wise, and that it does make changes to improve upon what is in the attractions graphical fidelity.

It also has an incredibly detailed facade, and that it doesn't feel like a bastardization unlike The Incredible Hulk's revamp..

 

[Alicia]

I would Argue that Kong at IOA is good as it is, as it does improve upon what was originally based for Hollywood; and that was more or less a way to make up for the loss of Hollywood's Kong.

It brought a cohesive story to the table, has one of the best queues in Orlando in terms of theming wise, and that it does make changes to improve upon what is in the attractions graphical fidelity.

It also has an incredibly detailed facade, and that it doesn't feel like a bastardization unlike The Incredible Hulk's revamp..

The Skull Island facade is incredible. But I hesitate to call it a complete land. More like a mini-land, or a well themed ride area.

If DK has a shop, snack stand, and a meet & greet, it'll already be more of a land than Skull Island, and it's just part of a larger area.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

The Skull Island facade is incredible. But I hesitate to call it a complete land. More like a mini-land, or a well themed ride area.

If DK has a shop, snack stand, and a meet & greet, it'll already be more of a land than Skull Island, and it's just part of a larger area.

To me, I would just call it a mini-land. While it doesn't have a dedicated store for the attraction, it does have kiosks; while that there is a snack stand there.

Out of anything for SNW, will be how DKIsland and Mario Kart makes the experience once you get in there to leaving fully immersive.

 

[Paulio]

I would Argue that Kong at IOA is good as it is, as it does improve upon what was originally based for Hollywood; and that was more or less a way to make up for the loss of Hollywood's Kong.

It brought a cohesive story to the table, has one of the best queues in Orlando in terms of theming wise, and that it does make changes to improve upon what is in the attractions graphical fidelity.

It also has an incredibly detailed facade, and that it doesn't feel like a bastardization unlike The Incredible Hulk's revamp..

It's still a purely 3d screen simulator ride, and it's not a complete land. Plus, it's way too similiar to the one I went in the Studio Tour in Hollywood, even if it has more story. I went on both and I see no difference between the two. One thing I do agree with you is that the queue part at Skull Island though is the most entertaining thing Universal has ever developed, far more than the ride itself. It feels like as if you're going far deeper into the adventure, much like the Indiana Jones ride queue at Disneyland. I wouldn't say that Skull Island is a total disappointment though, just not immersive as other great Universal attractions. Nothing beats the hell out of Kongfrontation and the King King Encounter, which are mostly comprised of practical sets, and feels like you're in their world of terror.

 

[cameronw99]

People still play Pokemon Go? I can't get over the fact that we're discussing zelda coming to UOR. What a time to be alive. As far as theme parks go at least...
And not having a Pokemon snap ride is a missed opportunity to show the "Best of". I hope you're listening uni

 

[Imperius]

Snap would work best for Pokémon for a ride, but I'm hoping they do either a walk through attraction of a safari zone or a boat ride using surf.

 

[GadgetGuru]

From the Pokemon Go event this weekend. (I see no children).

Just to play devil's advocate

* Kids are small. It's hard to get a photo of them in a crowd
* While kids were allowed at the event, it wasn't really made for them. Especially as the event began to fail.

 

[shiekra38]

The Skull Island facade is incredible. But I hesitate to call it a complete land. More like a mini-land, or a well themed ride area.

If DK has a shop, snack stand, and a meet & greet, it'll already be more of a land than Skull Island, and it's just part of a larger area.

Not the thread for this discussion, but a Kong version of Indiana Jones at Disneyland would be a dream come true...but we still got something amazing

 

[Paulio]

People still play Pokemon Go? I can't get over the fact that we're discussing zelda coming to UOR. What a time to be alive. As far as theme parks go at least...
And not having a Pokemon snap ride is a missed opportunity to show the "Best of". I hope you're listening uni

I might miss something within the thread here, but Pokemon isn't owned by Nintendo, it's owned by The Pokemon Company. Therefore, Universal would have to get additional and pain-taking license for that to happen. Super Nintendo World only involves of what Nintendo currently owns and Universal already has theme park license to their characters after long-term negotiations.

 

[cameronw99]

I might miss something within the thread here, but Pokemon isn't owned by Nintendo, it's owned by The Pokemon Company. Therefore, Universal would have to get additional and pain-taking license for that to happen. Super Nintendo World only involves of what Nintendo currently owns and Universal already has theme park license to their characters after long-term negotiations.

Pretty sure Nintendo is the parent company

 

[Alicia]

I might miss something within the thread here, but Pokemon isn't owned by Nintendo, it's owned by The Pokemon Company. Therefore, Universal would have to get additional and pain-taking license for that to happen. Super Nintendo World only involves of what Nintendo currently owns and Universal already has theme park license to their characters after long-term negotiations.

The Pokémon Company is a Japanese company that is responsible for marketing and licensing the Pokémon franchise. It was established through a joint investment by the three businesses holding the copyright on Pokémon: Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures.
​

If Game Freak and Creatures like money and selling plush Pokemon toys I think they'll be on board. Nintendo is also the sole trademark holder.

Given that Pokemon characters and logos are literally on every single type of thing that can be purchased in the world, I don't think the company usually has any issue saying yes to whatever licensing deal is put in front of them. Just my thoughts.

 

[quinnmac000]

The Pokémon Company is a Japanese company that is responsible for marketing and licensing the Pokémon franchise. It was established through a joint investment by the three businesses holding the copyright on Pokémon: Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures.
​

If Game Freak and Creatures like money and selling plush Pokemon toys I think they'll be on board. Nintendo is also the sole trademark holder.

Given that Pokemon characters and logos are literally on every single type of thing that can be purchased in the world, I don't think the company usually has any issue saying yes to whatever licensing deal is put in front of them. Just my thoughts.

Also Nintendo owns some of Creature.

 

[zg44]

Nintendo's control of Pokemon is somewhat complicated but it comes down to what @AliciaStella said: that Nintendo controls the trademarks (i.e. all the important specific stuff). On a side note, I had an associate who used to develop and release Pokemon rom-hacks, and he received a C&D from lawyers on behalf of Nintendo (from their Australia based law team) to stop.

For this discussion, we can basically treat Pokemon as a Nintendo-controlled property. Nintendo would have the ability to include Pokemon in a SNW rights agreement.

 

[quinnmac000]