I'm no internet sleuth by any means but even one
simple google search led me to
this interview with Theme Park Insider in 2021 between
Thierry Coup(Senior VP and CCO for Universal Creative) and
Tom Geraghty(Senior Director of Universal Tech & Innovation)::
TOM: Miyamoto-san, he had bigger ideas than the Switch could deliver, so they had to pull back on his ideas. But then he challenged the tech guys to get there, and I think the same thing happened with the creative ideas and the technology [on Super Nintendo World]. Can we can we make the AR wider? Can we make the field of view deeper? So there's the entire difference, which is the video game property in the deep, deep, deep interactivity, and there's the basic - I think we designed one of the best theme park experiences ever,
by keeping an eye on those key expectations.
THIERRY: We thought AR would be the perfect technology for this. You want to be able to go through some of the incredible items in Mario Kart. You want to collect things; you want you want to see the characters fly at you, and certain things you could not do with with with stereo or 3D or any kind of other projection.
It had to be AR, and we went and we looked at what was existing on the market. It wasn't quite there. We still did a test to prove to our senior leadership. We went to Cat in the Hat at Universal's Islands of Adventure, and we strapped a pair of AR glasses on Mr. Tom Williams, our chairman, to show him what we intended to do, and he got it. He loved it. And in true fashion, he said go ahead and do it, knowing that it wasn't quite ready. But he believed in us, and that's what's incredible about Universal. And then I told Tom, now you figure it out.
TOM: Yes, we had to advance the technology, it was not ready for us.
Assumptions are one thing but context and subtext are another.
Contextually,
Nintendo has been over-protective to the point of being publicly perceived as aggressive when it comes to ownership of its content and properties within its own community and industry.
Subtextually,
we know Universal is willing to do anything to pave the way to greatness, even if it means giving owners of said IPs complete creative control about how their properties are brought to the parks.
Peanut butter, meet Jelly. So, yes, the narrative is that Universal was urged -in some degree- to bring this technology to the parks because of Nintendo. It might have ended up being mutual in the long run as far as R&D is concerned
in their publicity of talking about it,
but i have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the paper being slid across the desk signed
from Nintendo TO Universal can be summarized as saying:
"We want this - find a way to make it work."
And i agree, i don't think either party is dissatisfied at all (and neither am I tbh).