2020 might be the cursed year of delays for the video game industry, with the PlayStation 5 release date and Xbox Series X release date potentially being the next in line for delays. This isn’t because of hardware problems or development issues, though. It’s entirely down to the coronavirus outbreak in China.
The prediction comes from a note published by the Jeffries Group investment company, reported on originally by Business Insider.
Companies are closing down offices, quarantining employees, or both in efforts to prevent the deadly outbreak from spreading further. And that naturally means work can’t continue on production and manufacturing.
The Jeffries Group note reads:
If [company] shutdowns exceed a month or so, game schedules will be delayed. New consoles may likewise suffer supply issues from a prolonged disruption, ahead of their Fall [sic] 2020 planned launches
If you’re wondering why games made by studios under Sony and Microsoft might be delayed when many are made in the U.S. or other countries outside of Asia, Jeffries Group has an answer for that too.
“30-50% of art creation in western games is done in China,” according to the note, while 100% of hardware manufacturing takes place there as well. Whatever changes the Big 3 intended to make with their production lines due to impending tariffs last year apparently weren’t very substantial.
This isn’t the first predicted delay the coronavirus is responsible for either. Nintendo Switch manufacturing might be impacted, and The Outer Worlds on Nintendo Switch was delayed because of the virus too.
Crappy though these delays may be, it’s hard to be too upset with news like this when safety is involved. Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more next-gen console news as it develops, which will hopefully be soon.
