To say the coronavirus pandemic has thrown a wrench into Nintendo and Universal Studios' plans for the Super Nintendo World theme park would be an understatement. It finally managed to open to the general public only last month, but Universal had to soon start limiting the number of visitors due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. And now there's a strong chance the whole park will need to temporarily shut down.
According to Kyodo News and WDW News Today, a resurgence of coronavirus cases has prompted Osaka governor Hirofumi Yoshimura to request the government to declare a state of emergency. This would include stronger anti-virus measures and result in the closure of many businesses and any locations where the risk of infection is highest. This obviously includes theme parks like Universal Studios, where Super Nintendo World is located.
It's believed that the surge in cases is because of the UK strain of the virus, which has reportedly spread throughout the Kansai region. On a related note, Tokyo's governor, Yuriko Koike, is considering declaring a state of emergency there too, which would result in the closure of Tokyo Disney Resort. If these requests go through, this would make it the third state of emergency for both locations. Osaka's last state of emergency ended at the end of February, while Tokyo's ended on March 21st.
Super Nintendo World's opening was meant to coincide with the 2020 Olympics, which were supposed to be held in Tokyo. That obviously never happened, with the park's construction being delayed and the Olympics outright canceled. Tokyo is hoping to run the Olympics properly this year, but some hold doubts considering how the pandemic is still ongoing. There was even a report from last month claiming that the event had been postponed again.
As for the park itself, Nintendo and Universal intend on bringing it to other locations around the world, namely Hollywood, Florida, and Singapore. Naturally, construction on these has been affected by the pandemic. The Florida one, which will be located at Universal's park in Orlando, was meant to open in 2023 but has instead been pushed back to 2025. This means die-hard Nintendo fans eager to check out the park will have to visit the one in Japan, but the pandemic makes that near impossible to do as well.
Work has also already begun on an expansion to the Osaka park, which is believed to be Donkey Kong-themed. There isn't a lot to go off at the moment, but it makes the most sense since the park is primarily based around the Super Mario games and also features Yoshi. Donkey Kong has always maintained a prevalent presence in the Mario franchise, such as the various spin-off titles and the Mario vs Donkey Kong series.
Source: Kyodo News, WDW News Today