An industry analyst has spoken out about the coronavirus, explaining it could delay the launch of the upcoming PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Both consoles are expected to be dropping in time for the holiday season this year, but the widespread virus could have a massive impact on the launch.
The coronavirus has now killed over 600 people across mainland China, and the video games industry is one of many that’s struggling with the pandemic.
China’s huge manufacturing prowess has seen a dip, and hardware is just one of many things that has come to something of a stand-still in production due to the virus.
The Animal Crossing-themed Switch from Nintendo has been delayed, as has the Switch release of The Outer Worlds.
Business Insider reports that the financial services company, Jefferies Group, has now issued a warning to investors that the next generation of console gaming could face delays.
“The video game sector is currently manufacturing, or beginning to, a once-in-several-years’ product generation change for the 2020 holiday season,” Jefferies Group said.
“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 2020 planned launches.”
The company went on to add that as much as “30-50% of art creation in western games is done in China,” while nearly 100% of the manufacturing takes place in China.”
As concerns over the deadly coronavirus grow, the World Health Organisation has issued the following statement: “WHO has been working with Chinese authorities and global experts from the day we were informed, to learn more about the virus, how it affects the people who are sick with it, how they can be treated, and what countries can do to respond.”
Featured Image Credit: Microsoft