Nintendo has announced the grand return of the Nintendo World Championships for 2017, the multi-week competition beginning the week of August 19. A mere eight Best Buy stores across the U.S. will host the qualifiers with the finals planned for October 7th. Those who travel out to qualify will compete in Time Trials within Mario Kart 7 and all the winners in each age bracket across the participating stores will meet to compete at Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom in New York City.
Nintendo’s specifics for the event follow the announcement trailer below:
Starting on Aug. 19, select Best Buy stores around the country will host qualifying events in eight locations around the country. Players will be divided into two groups based on their age, and both groups will play Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. The first age group, 12 and Younger, will play as Mario on the Nintendo DS “Luigi’s Mansion” course using Standard Kart, Standard Wheels and Super Glider. The second age group, 13 and Older, 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 Trial entry in each age group at the end of the two-day event at each location will qualify for the Nintendo World Championships 2017!
Plus, visitors who are My Nintendo members will be able to check in using their My Nintendo QR Code at any of the qualifier event locations to receive 100 Platinum Points. My Nintendo members who are one of the first 200 to check in daily at each location will receive a My Nintendo pin as an added bonus.
Finally, here are the Best Buys that will be participating in these “World” Championships:
610 Exterior St.Bronx, NY 10451 Aug. 19-20 Saturday 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
181 Curtner Ave.San Jose, CA 95125 Aug. 19-20 Saturday 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
3675 Pacific Coast HighwayTorrance, CA 90505 Aug. 26-27 Saturday 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
2301 Howard St.Evanston, IL, 60202 Aug. 26-27 Saturday 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
9378 N. Central Expressway Dallas, TX 75231 Sept. 2-3 Saturday 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
1000 W. 78th St.Richfield, MN, 55423 Sept. 2-3 Saturday 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
4001 W. 20th Ave.Hialeah, FL 33012 Sept. 9-10 Saturday 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
17364 Southcenter Parkway Tukwila, WA 98188 Sept. 9-10 Saturday 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
All the included Best Buy venues will include demos of Nintendo’s upcoming red-hot games Super Mario Odyssey and Metroid: Samus Returns. The final event in New York will have a variety of games in the competition, of which will be disclosed later.
Fans with a good memory will recall the similar Nintendo World Championships back in 2015, a revival of the 1990 event of the same name. As with the newly announced event, only eight Best Buy stores held qualifiers (each store facing long lines). Those events culminated in their finals during E3 2015, where this year’s October 7 finals coincide with this year’s New York Comic Con.
