After a brief hiatus, Nintendo is bringing the Nintendo World Championships back to the United States. Players from the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec) are eligible to join the competition, which will take place in select cities.
The first stop on the Nintendo World Championships’ tour will be held at select Best Buy stores beginning Aug. 19 in New York City and San Jose, CA. That will be followed up throughout August and September in Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Dallas, Seattle, and Miami.
At these eight locations, players will be divided into two groups based on their age, with both groups playing Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. The 12 and Younger age group will play as Mario on the Nintendo DS “Luigi’s Mansion” course using Standard Kart, Standard Wheels, and Super Glider. The 13 and Older group will play as Bowser on the Game Boy Advance “Bowser Castle 1” course using Standard Kart, Standard Wheels, and Super Glider. The player with the best time in each age group at the end of the two-day event qualifies for the Nintendo World Championships.
Like all important events in America, the final portion of the event will take place in the “City that Never Sleeps.” The best of the best will gather on Oct. 7 in New York at Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom.
Once the championship begins, those who qualified will battle their way through a variety of Nintendo games. Fans will be able to attend the event in New York as well this fall.
If you are interested in attending the final event in New York City, keep an eye out in the coming weeks for the distribution date, as tickets will be extremely limited. Fans who attend the qualifying events are in for a surprise though as well, as demo versions of Super Mario Odyssey and Metroid: Samus Returns.
For more information, be sure to check back to the site for updates, and be sure to check out the full rules for the Nintendo World Championships qualifying events at Nintendo’s official site.