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Universal Orlando's Super Nintendo World delayed indefinitely

Super Nintendo World will not open in 2023 as planned, because we can't have nice things.

Donovan Erskine

August 3, 2020 4:25 PM

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Super Nintendo World Japan is set to open later this year, bringing some of the developer’s most beloved titles to life in theme park fashion. The United States was set to get our own version of Super Nintendo World by way of Universal in 2023. We’ll have to wait even longer as it’s been announced that the project has been delayed indefinitely due to, you guessed it, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Super Nintendo World was scheduled to open in 2023 in Orlando, Florida as a part of Universal’s Epic Universe, a new theme park that would feature various popular IPs. During NBCUniversal’s second quarter earnings call, the company stated that Epic Universe will not be meeting its 2023 opening date. “We are continually adjusting our cost base and capital, including pausing development of our Epic Universe project in Florida, for example, until the future becomes more certain.” said Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal.

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown not just businesses, but entire industries into a state of emergency. One of those being heavily impacted by the virus are theme parks. With the stay-at-home orders and closings across the country, amusement parks are simply not pulling in the money that they were anticipating for the year. 

The news about Super Nintendo World Orlando isn’t surprising, but that doesn’t make it any less saddening. If it’s anything like what we’ve been seeing from the Japan location, Super Nintendo World will be a must-visit attraction for Nintendo fans.

Florida has actually become one of the worst locations not in just the United States, but the world when it comes to new coronavirus cases, so it may be quite a while before progress on Super Nintendo World gets back on track. When it does, we’ll have the details for you right here on Shacknews.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_