Yesterday, Sony had to make the painful decision to indefinitely delay the launch of The Last of Us Part 2. Although not surprising, it does continue to cement the fact that this Coronavirus is no joke and could lead to more delays in the future. Square Enix knew this and tried to beat the virus by shipping out Final Fantasy VII Remake early to retailers before everything shut down.
It’s clear that many others will be affected, regardless of the current development state of the game. Whether it turns gold or not, this virus will hamper any efforts for a good launch week, and that’s precisely why Sony chose to delay their game. Even though there’s the digital version that they could release, that’s not how things work in the gaming world. There’s certain procedure that has to be followed when releasing a game to the public. This brings me to the consoles, the next-gen PS5, and Xbox Series X.
I already talked about their potential delays, and despite both Sony and Microsoft claiming that their still on track to deliver holiday 2020 promise, I’m starting to see a shift in tone from them. I wholeheartedly believe that these consoles will be pushed back to early 2021 if things with the COVID-19 continue on its path and people don’t adhere to the instruction of their respective government. Despite GameStop’s best efforts, gaming is not essential.
