“Mario Kart was built on a game engine, so while [senior vice president Thierry Coup] was back in the States, he could actually drive Mario Kart on a game engine and give us grades in Japan. “Given that Universal and Nintendo want you to visit their parks someday, I highly doubt that we will have the public release of this version of the game soon – but I have found that it has other benefits besides just being fun for its designers.
Coup added that the design of the game engine means that the ride can evolve over time more easily: “Being on a game engine, we can continue to update, update and add new characters [in], changing themes, changing actions in real time. So, if there is a special event, anything we want to launch can be done overnight, if we really want to. This makes it much more flexible – it refreshes the experience. Every time you come back, you can experience something new and exciting. “
This is possible mainly because, although Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge is a traditional track-based tour, it uses augmented reality along the way to conjure up enemies and scenarios. Those are probably what could be updated or remixed on different days.
Super Nintendo World opens today in Osaka, Japan, with versions of the same park arriving at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Singapore and Epic Universe in Orlando (but the latter may not open until 2025).
Joe Skrebels is the Executive News Editor at IGN. Follow him on Twitter. Do you have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Send an email to [email protected].