Super Nintendo World will be temporarily closing, one month after its soft opening. Rising COVID-19 cases in Osaka are pushing the theme park to shutter for now.
It seems Nintendo’s decision to open a theme park in the middle of the pandemic is a big miss. Universal Studios Japan announced that they’re closing Super Nintendo World for now. The park itself only opened in March, with barely any visitors.
Osaka sees rising number of COVID-19 cases
Over the past few weeks, Universal Studios decided to limit the number of visitors to the park. A massive second wave of COVID-19 cases is rising in Osaka and Tokyo. The region even announced a state of emergency to help with the situation.
Now, Universal had no choice but to force close, considering the current situation. The park will operate at a serious loss with the prefecture under heavy lockdown if they stay open.
In a statement, the park announced its closure, assuring their visitors. This will happen starting April 25 and will only reopen once the prefectural government decides to lift the ban.
“Today, Universal Studios Japan has decided to temporarily close our park due to the substantial business shutdown request to operate with no spectators which was issued under the state of emergency for Osaka prefecture,” said the post. “The temporary closure will start from April 25th, 2021 and remain until the request has been lifted.”
“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.”
Universal Studios Japan already closed for months last year
Amusement parks are slowly dying due to the effects of the pandemic. It’s not only Super Nintendo World that is having problems due to the virus. Even other big parks like Disney World are forced to shutter their services or operate at a limited capacity.
Last year, Universal Studios Japan closed from February 29th to June 7th. Since then, the company operated under a limited capacity, following social distancing protocols.
Nintendo’s theme park should have opened last year, but the height of the pandemic delayed much of its work. Last month, the theme park opened with a small celebration and limited capacity.
There’s no clear information on how they’re doing, but one month of operation is likely not enough. Right now, high-risk locations are receiving force closure notices from the prefecture. Osaka itself received as many as 1100+ new cases today.
Universal Studios Japan notes that they will update when they can open Super Nintendo World.
Featured image courtesy of Nintendo/Youtube Screenshot