© Nintendo LifeToday's news that the Japanese video rating agency CERO – that's a & # 39; Computer Entertainment rating Organization & # 39; – temporarily shut down in response to the COVID-19 epidemic may have far longer effects on the video game industry than the recent cancellation of such annual events such as E3 and GDC.
Japan's response to the coronavirus outbreak has been relatively low compared to other countries (retail outlets have opened and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are yet to move forward as planned until the end of its distribution by the end of March), but the announcement of the emergency in Tokyo and other regions means businesses is due to close for a month, starting on Wednesday the 8th of April.
if you're not Nintendo or Tony or Bethesda, a month's delay can be the difference between surviving or going under
While the closure may not affect video games being released in the coming weeks (those articles will have been reviewed and rated by CERO), the closure, which is set to last until May 6, will radically change the schedule for the summer release in less important ways.
At the very least, game players should expect to be delayed across the board with anything looking for a June or July launch. Any submissions that have not been rated by CERO will be suspended and successfully held for one month; games that companies were preparing to submit and plan to release in the summer months will also be back. And while the closing is scheduled for one month, there's no guarantee it won't be extended. For gamers this means summer can be more quiet than usual, as big and small publishers join the line to get their game rated and released in Japan.
Of course, the big game companies will be able to get rid of this shutdown without worrying too much. As disturbing as it is, Sony may not be too concerned about delaying the release of Naughty Dog & # 39; s. Last to Us: Part II, for example – it's a great game and audience will wait (heck, already waiting) long duration of.
You should hear about smaller outfits and individuals, however: firms with smaller marks survive each release; developers who have put everything into making the game set to release Summer 2020; publishers rely on monetary injection to support it Next project. There is money invested in so many places and if you're not Nintendo or Tony or Bethesda, a month's delay can be the difference between surviving or going under.
(working from home) rarely happens to just grab an office laptop, making sure Wi-Fi is working and jumping into Slack
Engineers around the world are doing their best to work from home, but most companies (those in Japan in particular) are unprepared and do not have the infrastructure designed for remote operation. It's not usually a case of taking the office laptop, making sure Wi-Fi is working and jumping into Slack. Development of games to a great extent requires special hardware and equipment, secure data storage and much more out there. In the best case, development work will be partially completed as unusual obstacles are not found in the office space. It's a difficult situation for everyone, and we've never started with the mental and physical consequences of not being able to leave the house for weeks on end. The delay is thus inevitable, but the closure of CERO is yet another reminder for every gamer to be prepared for a few months of dependency.
So what exactly does this mean for Nintendo? Yes, the company has announced a few articles on the slider for 2020, meaning the general public can't be too disappointed about unknown projects that have lost their days (one of the pluses, in the opinion of PR, of Nintendo playing its cards close to its chest).
On the other hand, it means that scheduled announcements will be delayed, too. Following & # 39; Domain Direct & # 39; earlier this year, Nintendo fans are hungry for news of a new game – as we've seen in the rumor pack for 3D Mario & # 39; All-Stars 2 & # 39; – and now Nintendo's published version of the 2020 roapmap is wrapped by Xenoblade Chronicles: Edible Edition, Clubhouse Games: 51st International Classics and much is mixed. We expected this to change with the announcement of the megaton announcement, but that seems unlikely given the current situation.
Nintendo also has the opening of the Super Nintendo World theme park set to coincide with the increase in tourism presented by the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. It seems likely that the following will be postponed and, given the restrictions and economic situation of potential visitors to the new park, the delay in opening the park sounds inevitable or its doors are ready to open to open the system.
Nintendo has been illegally installed over a number of firms from these results
With less news regarding the company's upcoming production, some game players may have been pointing their hopes at the Holiday 2020 announcement of Breath of Wildlife 2, although the chances of this are small to begin with; now they are not. By all accounts we will be lucky to see it Metrop Prime 4 on Holiday 2021, and any uninvited articles will now be reduced. Throw in production issues and console shortages and things can certainly be a great fit for Kyoto.
However, Nintendo has ace up its sleeve now in form Crossing the Animals: New Horizons, a game that continues to give. The company organized the resource directly out the timing and popularity of it is in line with surprising ratings, surpassing when the game community is being distributed. In the three weeks since the launch of Nintendo's most popular headlines, the media has become increasingly widespread on social media – our feeds are packed with little except for COVID-19, custom designs and analytics.
When some games have a place to end or a campaign ends, Animals cross the transition during the year, with new events, new creatures to catch, new features to unlock, new items to discover. Nintendo was fortunate to have time for this game, and considering that the emergency doesn't stop the company from posting event updates in the coming months, New Horizons is the best game to take on Nintendo and its fans in these trying times. Kinda tough luck if you don't like crossing Animal Crossing.
For anyone with a major backlog of uninstalled games, there is a silver lining to this lock, but the economic facts are bizarre and we've never encountered the evils of it now. Nintendo has been subjected to more controversy than most firms from these results (Microsoft and Sony have committed to launching a new console that looks poised to hit their 2020 date), but the ongoing effects of COVID-19 are being felt across the industry for months, perhaps years to come.
We hope you all stay safe and make the best of this situation with the best video games available to mankind. Let us know below your thoughts on how the gaming industry will be affected in the coming months and beyond.
