Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Warcraft, Nintendo attractions star in rumored Universal video game theme park

Danny Cowan
By

nintendo warcraft universal park rumor gamepark header
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Recent rumors in the theme park industry suggest that Universal Studios plans to add a third theme park to its Universal Orlando Resort in Florida featuring rides and attractions based on World of Warcraft and Nintendo properties.

Orlando theme park enthusiast site This Is Infamous reports the rumored addition to the Universal Studios lineup, suggesting that a video game-focused theme park could serve as a rival to Walt Disney World.

Recommended Videos

This week’s rumors follow up on a recently established partnership between Nintendo and Universal that will introduce “major attractions at Universal’s theme parks [featuring] Nintendo’s most famous characters and games,” according to a Nintendo-issued press release.

Related

This Is Infamous reports that a Mario Kart-themed ride “is certainly in the works,” and hints that attractions based on Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda are also likely.

The site additionally states that the park will feature attractions based on Activision Blizzard’s popular MMORPG World of Warcraft. Universal is currently co-producing Warcraft a Duncan Jones-directed feature film set to debut in 2016.

A major expansion for Universal Orland Resort is possible, given that the company is rumored to be replacing its Wet N Wild Orlando waterpark with a sixth on-site hotel, upping visitor capacity. A new waterpark, Universal’s Volcano Bay, will open in 2017.

Other sources suggest that Universal may consider a similar strategy for a new park in Okinawa.

Recent successes with the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-themed areas of Universal’s parks in Orlando and Osaka may also spur the company to take its Nintendo partnership in a similar direction. Universal now specifically targets Disney’s Florida parks with Wizarding World and The Simpsons-themed expansions to Universal Orlando Resort.

Nintendo’s expansion into the realm of theme parks coincides with its recent shift into mobile development via a newly established partnership with publisher DeNA. The first Nintendo-licensed mobile game is due to launch later this year.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Danny Cowan
Danny Cowan
Contributor
Danny’s passion for video games was ignited upon his first encounter with Nintendo’s Duck Hunt, and years later, he still…
Pokémon are coming to Universal Studios’ theme park in 2022
universal studios pokmon collab nintendo

Universal Studios and The Pokémon Company just announced a partnership that will bring the pocket monsters to Universal Studios Japan. This partnership is said to bring a new innovative experience to the theme park where innovative technology and extraordinary creativity will mix.

Super Nintendo World - Official Tour with Shigeru Miyamoto

Read more
The Nintendo 64 is the best bad video game console
N64 (Nintendo) console composite image.

Any debate about the "best video game consoles of all time" always features a few prominent systems. The Super NES and PlayStation 2 are a couple you can expect to come up every time the conversation rears its head. One of the biggest contenders in that ongoing conversation is Nintendo's big entrance into the world of 3D:  The Nintendo 64. It's funny that it's such a beloved system 15 years later, because it may be the worst best console out there.

The Nintendo 64 did a lot for the world of modern gaming. It showed us how platformers should work in 3D, gave us immersive worlds that stood out at the time, and featured some of the most influential titles, many of which are still cited as inspirations to this day. So what earns it that "worst" prefix? It comes down to both hardware and its library of games beyond the hits.

Read more
Oxenfree 2 and more new games announced at Nintendo Indie World Showcase
A lighthouse sits on a cliff in Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals.

Nintendo today held another Indie World Showcase featuring announcements from developers around the world. The stream included the surprise reveal of Oxenfree II, along with other announcements, including a release date for Cris Tales, a release window and Switch reveal for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, and more.

The biggest announcement of the showcase was Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, a sequel set five years after the events of the original 2016 indie hit. In this next installment, Riley returns to her hometown to investigate mysterious radio signals. It doesn't have an exact release date, but is planned to launch sometime in 2021.

Read more