Nintendo on COIVD-19 and Super Nintendo World – more time to develop facilities, change in operational policies
Nintendo commented on the impact of the coronavirus on Super Nintendo World during Nintendo’s 80th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.
Although president Shuntaro Furukawa had a few comments, Shigeru Miyamoto primarily tackled the subject. Miyamoto noted that “there is more time to spend on carefully developing the facilities and the like, and in that specific respect, I feel that the impact has not been largely negative.” As for when people are actually able to enter the theme park, ” the overall operational policies for the park as they relate to managing lines of large numbers of people and how things work inside the facilities will be changed.”
Here are the full comments from Furukawa and Miyamoto:
Furukawa: Super Nintendo World is composed of numerous attractions, shops, and restaurants designed to allow people to experience the world of Nintendo IP in real life. After Japan, it is planned to expand to the United States and Singapore. Regarding the opening for Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan, a plan was announced to open it before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but that schedule has changed due to COVID-19. Universal Studios Japan is expected to announce a new opening date. There is not much I can say about the operation of Super Nintendo World because that’s not our role, but Mr. Miyamoto has been involved on the creative side, so I will let him answer.
Miyamoto: Nintendo has been working with Universal Parks & Resorts on our global plans for Super Nintendo World for about five years, and development is progressing smoothly. As a result of COVID-19 there is more time to spend on carefully developing the facilities and the like, and in that specific respect, I feel that the impact has not been largely negative. However, I think the overall operational policies for the park as they relate to managing lines of large numbers of people and how things work inside the facilities will be changed. I expect Universal Studios Japan will announce an opening date for Super Nintendo World after taking measures to ensure safe operation, so please look forward to that.
