Super Nintendo World opening delayed due to state of emergency in Osaka

Universal Studios Japan has announced that Super Nintendo World will not open next month as planned. Osaka Park’s Nintendo theme zone was due to open on February 4, after the launch was delayed from last year, but since Osaka was placed in an emergency yesterday until at least February 7, that will no longer happen. The USJ says it will announce a new opening date once the state of emergency has been lifted.

The state of emergency in Japan was originally issued for Tokyo and its surrounding areas, but yesterday the order was expanded to cover a total of 11 prefectures, including Osaka. The countermeasures are not very strong compared to COVID-1

9 restrictions for locking elsewhere – people are advised not to make non-essential trips outside and companies such as restaurants and cinemas are asked to close earlier in the evening – but of course it is still not an ideal time to open an amusement park.

Super Nintendo World is an important project for Nintendo, representing the most ambitious attempt yet to expand its IP into new business opportunities. The park was originally set to open in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which itself remains in serious doubt. When it finally opens, it has attractions like an AR drive Mario Kart roller coaster.