TOKYO—Nintendo Co. will open an area dedicated to its famous game characters inside theme-parks of Universal Parks & Resorts in Hollywood, Orlando and Japan's Osaka, the two companies announced on Tuesday.

The opening will occur over the next several years and feature "expansive, immersive and interactive" experiences built around the Kyoto-based game powerhouse's famous franchise characters such as Mario.

The project is one of many steps that Nintendo has taken to raise awareness of its game characters to re-attract consumers to its traditional console-centered game business. Nintendo has been struggling as a result of fierce competition from rivals such as Sony Corp.'s PlayStation and smartphones as a game platform. Other Nintendo efforts include the recent launch of a smaller version of its classic game console and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appearing as Mario at the closing ceremony of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Nintendo and Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp., announced their partnership agreement last year to develop amusement facilities using Nintendo's characters.

Write to Takashi Mochizuki at takashi.mochizuki@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 29, 2016 11:05 ET (16:05 GMT)

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