Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom hopping into theme parks

While the famed Japanese creator of "Mario Bros." and "Donkey Kong" spent most of his trip to last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo touting such upcoming Nintendo games as "Super Mario Maker" and "Star Fox Zero," Miyamoto was also enthusiastic about a totally different undertaking.

Nintendo Co. announced plans last month for immersive experiences featuring the Japanese gaming giant's characters at Universal theme parks, but it didn't provide any details.

Despite the forthcoming release of the sci-fi space combat game "Star Fox Zero" and the do-it-yourself platformer "Super Mario Maker" for Nintendo's Wii U console, the 62-year-old game designer has no immediate plans to retire — and his colleagues don't want him to, either.

"For me, because it's Mr. Miyamoto, I want him to continue making things as long as he wants to continue making things," said Shinya Takahashi, general manager of the software planning and development division at Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo.

How do you take something digital and bring it into the real world in a way that people can experience it in real life?