Nintendo is bringing back the Nintendo World Championships to North America, and a Super Mario Odyssey demo is coming along with them.
The original Nintendo World Championships event took place way back in 1990 and pit players against each other in the NES games Rad Racer, Super Mario Bros. and Tetris. Nintendo brought the tournament back in 2015 to kick off that year’s E3.
This year’s competition is open to players from the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec). Qualifiers will be held at select Best Buy stores beginning Aug. 19 in New York City and San Jose, CA. Additional rounds will be held throughout August and September in Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Dallas, Seattle and Miami.
In the qualifier matches, players will race against each other in Mario Kart 7’s time trial mode. Competitors ages 12 and younger will play on the Luigi’s Mansion track as Mario using the standard cart, standard wheels and super glider. Those 13 and older will take to Bowser Castle 1 as Bowser with the same cart configurations.
Those who log the best times in the local qualifiers will face off at the Championships proper in New York City on Oct. 7.
Anyone who visits the participating Best Buy locations on the days of the qualifiers will get a chance to play Super Mario Odyssey before launch, along with Metroid: Samus Returns. My Nintendo members can also receive 100 platinum points by checking into the event with their QR code.
