The current year was supposed to be an excellent experience for the fans of video games. Prominent and highly anticipated titles such as Cyberpunk 2077, The Last of Us 2, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and many others, are finally going to see the light of day this year, which by itself is a huge thing.
And the pinnacle should have been the end of the year, with the arrival of the new console generation - PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
However, it seems that's not going to happen, at least according to analysts.
DFC Intelligence, market research and consulting firm focused on interactive entertainment, released a forecast (via Forbes) for next-gen consoles. They said that there's a very high chance both consoles will miss the planned Holiday 2020 release window and will be delayed for the next year. And, of course, the reason is the ongoing pandemic.
The statement reads: "Coronavirus is likely to have a major short-term impact on the delivery of both systems. There is a strong likelihood one or both systems will not make a 2020 launch. If the systems do launch, supply will likely be constrained and initial pricing could be higher than expected.
"Currently, the economy is in an unprecedented state of uncertainty. Even if the situation clears up in a few weeks, the ability to manufacture and release a high-end new game system has already been severely impacted."
Nevertheless, analysts agree that on launch (whenever that will be), both consoles are going to see a record-high demand which will exceed supply, and that could increase overall sales in the long-term.