“Strong likelihood” that PS5 and Xbox Series X will be delayed, but analysts disagree

According to a report from analysis firm DFC Intelligence, there is a “strong likelihood” that PS5 and Xbox Series X will get delayed due to the novel Coronavirus global outbreak. Both consoles are supposed to be released by the end of the year, but multiple countries have opted for total shutdowns to prevent the virus from further spreading.

Considering the current “unprecedented state of uncertainty,” the firm claims that “one or both systems” won’t manage to ship in time for 2020 or, if they do, they could be coming to retailers with limited supplies or at a higher price than anticipated.

“Coronavirus is likely to have a major short-term impact on the delivery of both systems,” states DFC, as reported by Forbes. “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,” adds the firm. “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.”

Analyst Daniel Ahmad from Niko Partners has shared on Twitter that he doesn’t see any particular reason right now that would prompt Sony and Microsoft to delay their next-gen consoles. Although he reckons that “things can always change very quickly.” According to Ahmad, the production in China is slowly restarting, and by the time Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 will have to enter that process, the emergency should be over.

Xbox Series X has been gradually unveiled between E3 2019 and last month Xbox Wire’s blog post, with an official trailer at The Game Awards in between that served to reveal the final name of the console. 

E3 2020 was set to be a big event for the platform, a milestone in the journey of presenting it to the fans, but the event got canceled, and Microsoft had to rethink that occasion as a digital showcase we’ll learn more about in the coming weeks. Xbox Series X is slated for Holiday 2020 and is scheduled to be released alongside Halo Infinite.

PS5 has also seen a gradual unveil through the last several months, even though it is nowhere to be seen in public. A reveal was expected to happen in February but that, due to a rather conservative PR strategy on Sony’s end, was skipped and, over Coronavirus concerns, March will have the same fate.