Super Nintendo World delayed again due to COVID-19 spike in Japan

Super Nintendo World, which was due to open to the public on February 4, has now been delayed for the second time due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Following a spike in COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency for 11 Japanese prefectures this week – including Osaka, where Universal Studios Japan is based. Consequently, Super Nintendo World has now postponed its opening day indefinitely, and according to the official website, its new target date "will be decided and announced after the state of emergency is lifted in Osaka prefecture." 

For context, Japan's first COVID-related state of emergency lasted roughly five weeks for most affected prefectures. Given the improvements to global coronavirus measures and the ongoing vaccine rollout (Japan plans to start its vaccination program in late February according to NHK), it's possible that this state of emergency may take under a month. Of course, there's no way to tell and it's not like Super Nintendo World will literally open the day after the state of emergency ends, so spring would be a reasonable estimate for the updated opening. 

Super Nintendo World park was first announced in 2016 and has since become home to several Mario-and-friends-themed attractions. This includes Mario Kart: Koopa Challenge, Yoshi’s Adventure, Power Up Band Key Challenges, and potentially even a Donkey Kong attraction in the future. Nintendo and Universal Studios Japan have been doing a lot of promotional work to build up opening day, including a virtual tour hosted back in November with Shigeru Miyamoto acting as a tour guide. 

For now, you can at least take a high-flying tour of the theme park through this website extension.