'Super Nintendo World' to hit Universal Studios Japan before Tokyo 2020

OSAKA -- Universal Studios Japan will launch a new area titled "Super Nintendo World" before the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the park's operator USJ Co. announced on Dec. 12.

The new area at the park in Osaka's Konohana Ward will feature Mario and other popular Nintendo characters. The amusement park will invest around 50 billion yen in the area.

Nintendo areas are being developed at three theme parks in Japan and the United States, but the one at Universal Studios Japan will be the first to open.

Katsuhiro Miyamoto a professor emeritus at Kansai University, has calculated that through the opening of "Super Nintendo World," the theme park will bring about 6.2 trillion yen to Japan's Kinki region over a period of about one decade. He predicted that the new zone would surpass the popularity of the Harry Potter area.