PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X Might Be Delayed: Report

Sony and Microsoft's next-generation gaming consoles will be delayed due to the impacts of the current coronavirus outbreak, a report claims.

The 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak has affected many aspects of people's daily lives. It has affected the way people use smartphones, the work that people have in their respective workplaces, and has also affected the things they can or cannot buy or acquire at the moment.

One area that COVID-19 also affects is video gaming. Big names in the video gaming industry have been forced to do things to mitigate the damages the virus outbreak can do. Some companies have decided to cancel their participation in certain events. Some events, on the other hand, were simply cancelled.

While some events can simply be turned into online gatherings, some things like actual physical releases cannot. A new report reveals that because of COVID-19, Sony's upcoming PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's upcoming Xbox Series X will be delayed.

According to a new DFC Intelligence report (via WCCFTech), COVID-19 will likely have a “major short-term impact on the delivery of both systems,” which results to a “strong likelihood one or both systems will not make a 2020 launch.”

The experts behind the report believe that Sony and Microsoft will miss their planned release dates dute to problems that the current outbreak has caused to the supply chain. And with the uncertainties surrounding COVID-19, manufacturers will still have a few problems producing the said devices even if the situation gets better in a few weeks' time.

Greater demand

On the brighter side of things, DFC Intelligence, a research company composed of many people who have had experience in the video gaming and digital media industry, expects that when the time comes for Sony and Microsoft to launch their respective consoles, consumers will be more than ready.

The research firm said that consumer demand for the PS5 and Xbox Series X should be “stronger than ever” whenever the new consoles are launched. This is inline with what Piers Harding-Rolls, head of Games Research at IHS Markit, said earlier this month, claiming that the upcoming consoles will surpass the PS4 and Xbox One when they are released.