Here are the first details about the new Nintendo themed section at the Universal Studios in Japan, and when visitors will be able to see it for the first time.

Last year, Nintendo announced the company would be partnering with Universal Studios to bring their franchises and characters to Universal Studios theme parks. Nintendo said “The immersive experiences will include major attractions at Universal’s theme parks and will feature Nintendo’s most famous characters and games – creating spectacular, dedicated experiences based on Nintendo’s wildly popular games, characters and worlds.”

At one point, there was a rumor that Nintendo might be getting its own dedicated theme park, but recent details give a scope to the actual project. Sankei News in Japan reports that Universal Studios Japan will build a Nintendo themed area inside of its park. It's a $351 million (forty billion yen) project and is planned to be about the size of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the Harry Potter themed area located inside the Universal Studios Japan and the park in Orlando, Florida.

The planned Nintendo section of the park can be seen in red on the map below. The space where the new area for Nintendo will be built is currently used as an event space located to the left of the park's main entrance, so it won't affect any other attractions or visitor areas at the park.

So when will it be open? Universal Studios Japan plans to have it ready for visitors in 2020, which will coincide with the 2020 Olympics being held in Japan. The hope is to draw in the huge amount of international tourists who are there for the Olympics.

Nintendo and Universal are still mum on exact details about what might be included in the Nintendo section of the park, but it's likely to get rides and attractions featuring the biggest of Nintendo's franchises. Mario is a no-brainer, and it's likely that Zelda and Pokemon will make an appearance. It can take many years to create the rides and immersive experiences in a theme park, so it might still be a while before any details are released about exactly what can be experienced at the future Nintendo area at Universal Studios Japan.

Fans will no doubt be excited to see Nintendo expanding into new areas, including theme parks like this one. There was also a rumor that Nintendo may be working with Disney to bring some of its properties to movies, games, and toys, but nothing concrete has surfaced since the initial rumors.

Are you excited for a Nintendo themed area at Universal Studios Japan? Would you travel there to visit?

Source: Kotaku