Super Nintendo World theme park will finally open in Japan on March 18

Universal Studios Japan and Nintendo have announced that the Super Nintendo World theme park will finally open to the public next week, after it was forced to postpone the original planned February opening due the city of Osaka delcaring a State of Emergency in reponse to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

As you'd no doubt expect, the press release reassures visitors that stringent hygiene procedures will be in place for the opening, including "guidance from health adminstrations and medical professionals in light of the siatuation in Japan and overseas." Visitors are asked to wear a mask at all times, and the number of people allowed in at any one time will be resistricted.

Alas, until the global situation allows for it, it probably won't be welcoming international visitors too soon, although as per the Orlando Sentinel (as spotted by IGN) a US version currently pencilled in for Orlando Park in Florida has been delayed around two years and won't open before 2025. 

The Super Nintendo World theme park had, prior to the February postponement, been open to the media and Papa Mario himself Shigeru Miyamoto who gave a tour of the park back in December. You can watch that over here. The park opens within Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan on March 18.