‘Super Mario’ Creator Shigeru Miyamoto Reveals Super Nintendo World Almost Included Other Characters

Justin Topa

Super Nintendo World Universal Studios Hollywood

‘Super Mario’ Creator Shigeru Miyamoto Reveals Super Nintendo World Almost Included Other Characters

In a recent interview with GameSpot, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of “Mario”, revealed that Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom cohorts weren’t necessarily the only Nintendo characters originally imagined for Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.

When asked why the land was named the broader “Super Nintendo World”, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto shared that, while guests can now enter through the warp pipe to find jaw-dropping relics of Super Mario’s Mushroom Kingdom, other Nintendo characters were not excluded from the initial concept.

“It is Super Nintendo World, and there was discussion about adding other IP in there like, say, Splatoon,” explained Miyamoto in the interview with Gamespot. “Instead of having our focus scattered, we thought it would be best to start with something focused and make sure [its] something that’s quality and good.”

Miyamoto’s response suggests that the option to add other Nintendo characters to Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood is still a very real possibility. Another creation of Miyamoto, little creatures known as Pikmin, are already hidden throughout Super Nintendo World at both Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan.

When stepping into Super Nintendo World at Universal, Miyamoto admits he wasn’t sure how convincing the land was going to be, but he was blown away by the finished results.

“There [were] concerns like, ‘Is it actually going to be convincing? Is it actually going to turn out the way we want it to,'” Miyamoto shared. “After seeing all of these elements come through and actually having them all together in one place and seeing them function, I had this moment where the landscape I’m seeing really links up with my game experience.”

The legendary creator was also asked about comparisons between him and the successes of Walt Disney.

“I do feel very honored to be compared with Disney,” said Miyamoto. “I feel that Disney to some extent, especially for families, [represents] a sense of reassurance for families. I feel like Nintendo is well-known for video games and usually, video games don’t equate to reassurance very much. [B}eing compared to Disney really gives me the [confidence] that we’ve gotten to a point where we can bring Nintendo to the concept of reassurance and perhaps [give that] reassurance.”

If you haven’t been able to visit Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood since it officially opened last month, be sure to check out our full guide to everything you can expect to see and do at the new land.

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