Nations, including the United States of America, have begun escalating their response to the novel coronavirus this past week due to its continued international spread. The possibility ofCOVID-19growing to be a worldwide pandemic is undeniable, and as narrow as of a focus as it may be, there’s an increasing likelihood that COVID-19’s spread will affect the manufacture of both thePlayStation 5andXbox Series Xleading into their holiday 2020 release.
Senior analyst Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners, a market research and consulting firm focused on the Asian games market, recently provided a statement to The Hollywood Reporter regarding the impact of COVID-19 on next-gen console manufacturing. According to Ahmad, the possibility of either a shortage or even a delay going into the holidays is increasingly likely. However, as Ahmad notes, it’s not yet unpreventable.
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“If the coronavirus outbreak is contained within the next month or two then we would expect console manufacturers to be able to meet the demand for the holiday quarter, both for current-gen consoles and next-gen console launches,” is Ahmad’s expert opinion on the issue. Ahmad sets a deadline of the end of Q2 2020 for manufacturing needing to reach full capacity to meet demand. If COVID-19 causes that deadline to be missed, then “either limited supply or delayed releases” for thePS5 and Xbox Series Xbecome likely.
When asked about the possibility ofE3 2020, the industry’s biggest North American convention, being canceled as a result of COVID-19, Ahmad shares a similar conclusion. “Right now there isn’t any reason for an event like E3 to be [canceled],” he says before recognizing that organizers will be “looking at what happens over the next few months.”
As of the end of February, it’s still too early to make any predictions about theimpact of the COVID-19. The threat of COVID-19 is quite apparent, however. Further spread over the next two months will reveal much more than is already known.
Without further information, it’s impossible to come to any conclusions about either E3 or this holiday’s launch of the next-gen consoles. What would be accurate to say is thatSony’s already said it won’t be attending PAX East, GDC, or E3, though its E3 absence is for reasons other than COVID-19. Xbox never had plans to attend PAX East, but it’s still going to be a major part of both GDC and E3 in 2020. Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirmed just recently that plans for E3 were moving forward fast.
Both Sony and Microsoft are certain to convey any changes in plans for thePlayStation 5and theXbox Series Xas soon as they’re able.
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