The Coronavirus, or at least the new strand of the virus referred to as the Wuhan Coronavirus, has been affecting mainland China for months now. Since it’s first reported case on December 1st, 2019, the virus has heavily affected everyday life in China as well as imports and exports coming in and out of the country.
As a result of China’s manufacturing taking a hit, a number of products that were originally meant to be delivered worldwide have been halted or delayed. This has affected a number of industries, including the tech, toy, and gaming industries, delaying product construction andevents like Taipei Game Showthat were meant to be showcase new products.
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So, let’s take a look at how exactly this recent epidemic has affected the gaming industry and how it might continue to alter the plans of developers and tech giants like Sony and Microsoft. Withdoctors on China’s front lineto contain the spread of the virus and tend to those afflicted, these effects will hopefully end soon, as will the suffering of the victims. However, for now, it looks like we may be seeing the effects of this delays all year, as one of the world’s largest manufacturing centers grinds to a halt.
Rumors of PS5 Reveal Delay
A number of rumors have been circulating recently about the state of the PS5’s reveal and, most importantly, where and when it will be taking place. Some rumors have placed thePS5 reveal in late February, while others suggested it might have been happening sometime around February 5th. If the latter rumor had true, then it’s highly likely that Sony was planning to unveil their new system at Taipei Game Show before it was delayed.
At the moment, this is still hearsay, as no event was announced and Sony hasn’t commented on exactly what reveals may have been delayed as a result of the convention’s delay. It is entirely possible that we’ve already seen the effects of this delay, withFinal Fantasy 7 Remake’s new trailerdropping suddenly online as opposed to being revealed at a press event. With that being said, while it may have been a strong business tactic to reveal the system at Taipei, with worldwide coverage reaching close to the huge Chinese gaming market, Sony will likely be holding the PS5 announcement in a more private venue in the future.
More Gaming Events Cancelled
Aside from the Taipei Game Show, there have been a few other gaming events that have been canceled, postponed, or put under strict guard as fear of Wuhan Coronavirus continues to grow. Most notably, the second week of theLeague of LegendsPro League was delayedto ensure the safety of both fans and players, as the Chinese tournament held a high risk of spreading the virus. As a result, the tournament has maintained it’s postponement and likely won’t be back on for some time.
Game Delays
The gaming industry is a huge mix of companies around the globe, all working to deliver the gaming experiences that fans love. This is how surprises likeThe Outer WorldsSwitch port delaycan happen as a result of the Coronavirus, even though the development studio, Obsidian Entertainment, is located in California. As it happens, the team that Obsidian contracted to facilitate the port is located in China, causing the game’s release to delay as the team stays safe to limit risk of infection.
A similar situation can be seen happening toNintendo’sAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsas the manufacturers for the custom Switch that comes with the Switch Bundle are located in China. Again, the industry is a worldwide collection of independent companies and tech giants all coming together to deliver games, and in the past a majority of the manufacturing has been performed in China. As a result, when something like the Coronavirus begins spreading through the manufacturing center of the world, production can halt and shipments get delayed.
Games Spiking in Popularity
One strange effect of the Coronavirus lately, has had more to do with gamers directly as opposed to the industry behind selling and developing games. Some titles with surface level similarities to the virus have been skyrocketing as fears of the Wuhan Coronavirus have swept across the world. In fact, popular mobile titlePlague Inc.has excelled in Chinasince worries of the virus started spreading throughout the country.
Similarly,Resident Evilbegan trending onlineas players noticed some eerie similarities between the company working on a vaccine and the in-game Umbrella Corporation. So, in some rare cases, certain games have even benefited from the fears of the Coronavirus and how they relate to the illness. However, the effects of this virus might wind up spreading even further into the future, as the manufacturing of this years most anticipated consoles may be at risk.
PS5 and Xbox Series X Possibly Delayed
Similar to theAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsdelay, the PS5 and Xbox Series X are both manufactured in China, and with a lot of manufacturing grinding to a halt, this could effect the availability of the systems when they launch later this year. The extent of what these manufacturing delays might mean is still yet to be seen, as neither Sony nor Microsoft has come out to address any delays they may be currently suffering from. As a result, this might be a similar situation to the launch of the Nintendo Switch, which saw consoles flying off the shelf faster than the company could hope to stock them.
However, rumors still claim that both systems will still be releasing by the end of this year, even if we don’t know the exact date yet. With both thePS5 and Xbox Series Xcoming in as the most highly anticipated pieces of gaming tech for 2020, any delays would be immediate news and likely spark fan outrage. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, but considering the current halt in the market, anything is really a possibility at this point.
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