Video games are one of the biggest industries in the world. According to SuperData, the video game industry generated a whopping $119.6 billion in 2018 alone. It’s a worldwide industry unlike the film industry which is primarily based in Hollywood. Video games are developed all over including America, Europe, Canada, and China, the epicenter of the coronavirus.
Despite being a worldwide industry, almost every gaming product ends up trickling back to China, one way or another. Whether that be outsourcing, porting, or probably one of the most relevant things for gaming this year: hardware manufacturing. So, let’s take a look at what may be affected by the coronavirus and what might not be.
Coronavirus and next-gen consoles
Let’s lead with the big one. As we know, the end of 2020 will bring the next-generation of consoles: PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. These consoles will likely begin getting manufactured this spring and that’s likely going to happen in one key place with one key company.
Taiwanese company Foxconn manufactures a lot of your electronics. Apple products, televisions, and yes, video game consoles. Given the history, it’s probably right to assume they’re going to be manufacturing the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Despite being based in Taiwan, Foxconn’s biggest factories are in China. They have 12 factories across the country, more than any other country they operate in including the United States and Europe. Foxconn has been widely criticized for its horrible working conditions that have led workers to tamper with products.
In 2013, it was alleged (though never officially proven) that student interns at Foxconn were forced to manufacture PlayStation 4 units before the system’s launch in November. To express their displeasure, some students tampered with and even allegedly spit inside of the consoles they manufactured.
As of November 2017, it was reported that Foxconn was still illegally overworking students but has since stopped. Hopefully, that remains true and we don’t have to worry bout any disgruntled employees spitting in PlayStation 5s.
Foxconn has hired Zhong Nanshan, a scientist at China’s National Health Commission who is leading the investigation on the coronavirus as an adviser. Zhong enters the Chinese company as they reopen factories. The company is also offering $1,000 a week to get employees back to work.
Will the consoles be delayed? Probably not unless there’s a massive change in the coronavirus crisis or the platform holders make the call to do it for other reasons. Foxconn is making an effort to ease employee concerns and make sure the production lines return to business as usual.
It seems that the only products taking a hit are the ones that are already released. Nintendo already reported that they will face production delays on the Nintendo Switch thanks to the coronavirus as well. Let’s just hope that Foxconn is handling the situation with care and is closely monitoring the situation.
The PlayStation 5 reveal event
One of the other big questions on everyone’s mind right now is when the hell is Sony going to lift the curtain on the PlayStation 5? We’ve been drip-fed these various details but people want to see the console, know what it’s really capable of, what games it’s going to have, and get a release date. A reveal was anticipated by many in February to echo the 2013 PlayStation 4 reveal but alas, silence from Sony.
With Sony (and many others) pulling out of major events like PAX and the now-canceled GDC, how can Sony feel comfortable holding an event for their next-gen console anytime soon? Sure, they can do one of their Nintendo Direct-esque State of Plays but that’ll put them in a bind with the press cycle.
Ideally, an in-person event with press in attendance would allow hands-on time with the console, games, and interviews with developers and PlayStation execs. Xbox doesn’t have to worry about anything like this as they’ll be at E3 but Sony won’t be so they need that extra push.
Renting a venue seems out of the question and inviting press directly to PlayStation HQ seems far more dangerous than the alternative if coronavirus is their concern. Welcoming it directly in their walls is far worse than spreading it at some venue. Because of all this, I would say that the earliest we see a PlayStation 5 reveal is May 2020.
Will press be in attendance at that time? It’s too soon to tell but Sony probably can’t afford to wait much longer on talking about the console after that given how rabid everyone is currently.
2020’s major releases
Even games that you associate with non-Chinese developers receive substantial work from China. Whether that be a port or a game’s initial release. Pretty much every game you see has outsourced to China. A company known as Original Force that has worked on The Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2, Madden, FIFA, Uncharted, Mortal Kombat, and Call of Duty and guess where they’re based? That’s right, China.
It doesn’t stop with Original Force either. There are all kinds of developers like this sprawled across China including Virtuos, the team handling the Nintendo Switch port of The Outer Worlds. It sort of flew under the radar amidst other news but Virtuos closed their doors due to the coronavirus which has delayed The Outer Worlds’ Switch port indefinitely.
According to former IGN writer Alanah Pearce, there are other games that have already taken on delays from the coronavirus. She wasn’t able to name any due to the fact it’s confidential information but they could be one of three things: Marvel’s Avengers which was slated for May but was pushed to September, games that haven’t been officially delayed yet, or games that didn’t have a hard release date announced to the public anyways.
All in all, the gaming industry will suffer one way or another because of the coronavirus. Games are getting delayed and it’s affecting major business strategies for companies like Sony. The situation is developing minute by minute so this article could be outdated by the time I hit publish but it’s unlikely you will see the next-gen consoles delayed at the moment.
We’ll continue to keep you updated here on GameZone for any significant impact the coronavirus has on the gaming industry.
