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Super Nintendo World Japan temporarily closes due to COVID-19 state of emergency

The city of Osaka has declared a state of emergency, forcing Super Nintendo World to temporarily close.

April 23, 2021 9:40 AM

After several delays and pushbacks, the first Super Nintendo World park opened in Osaka, Japan. Despite the fact that the pandemic is still a real threat, the situation was deemed safe enough for the park to operate at a limited capacity. However, that run was short-lived. As COID-19 cases have gone up, the city of Osaka has gone into a state of emergency, which forced Super Nintendo World to close its doors until further notice.

The news about Super Nintendo World Japan’s temporary closure was shared on the Universal Studios Japan website. The park will close on April 25 and will remain shut down for the foreseeable future.

With many expected to visit the park in the coming weeks, Universal also issued a statement about those who already made arrangements to attend Super Nintendo World. “We sincerely apologize for causing any inconvenience to our guests who were looking forward to visiting us. Detailed instructions regarding previously purchased tickets will be listed on our official website tonight.”

The COVID-19 pandemic led to Universal Studios Japan closing down for a large portion of 2020. It also slowed construction on the park, which pushed the grand opening from its original 2020 window. The opening of the park was delayed yet again as concerts surrounding the pandemic were still very much real. Now, the pandemic has once again thrown the future of Super Nintendo World into question.

Though the park is now closed, past attendees and Shigeru Miyamoto himself have given us a good look at all of the games and attractions that visitors can experience. Bookmark Shacknews’ Super Nintendo World topic page for more on the park in Japan, as well as the ones currently being constructed around the world.

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_

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