The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has unsurprisingly been causing a number of issues for Nintendo over the past few months - in April, the company told its Japanese fans that shipments of Switch consoles would be temporarily put on hold as a result of the virus' effects.
The gaming giant noted that the ongoing effects of the pandemic "only had limited impact on business results for this fiscal year" in today's earnings report, but has also outlined a number of ways in which it could affect business going forward.
One potential problem, which could arise if the effects of the virus "are prolonged or worsen further", would see games and services get delayed as development schedules are pushed back. Nintendo says, "we may not be able to proceed with the release of Nintendo products and the start of services as planned":
"If the effects of COVID-19 are prolonged or worsen further, development schedules may be impacted due to the difference in development environments between working from home and in the office. In particular, the impact to overseas subsidiaries and other affiliated companies involved in development is anticipated to be even more difficult to predict than within Japan.
As a result of these factors, we may not be able to proceed with the release of Nintendo products and the start of services as planned. This is also true for other software publishers, so it may not be possible to provide game content on Nintendo platforms as planned.
Other risks to Nintendo's business going forward include the restrictions of physical sales, with retail stores being closed, as well as "a possibility that provision of those services offered via [Nintendo's] network may be suspended in the event that [it is] no longer able to maintain the stability of [its] network systems".
There is good news, too, however. Nintendo says that the delays in production and shipping are "gradually recovering", and while any prolonged impacts of the virus could disrupt product supply again in the future, this should mean that more systems will soon be finding their way to fans who have been trying to get their hands on one.
[source nintendo.co.jp]
Comments 40
Interested to know if it will effect physical releases this month, in particular Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, or whether it's more likely to effect titles / services for the coming summer months. The important thing is for everyone to remain safe & in good health.
I have been trying to get things delivered on ebay all month and it's like nothing is moving. I ordered a game in early april and haven't recieved it yet. This stupid virus is trashing the world as we knew it!
Better delayed than never coming out I suppose. On the bright side maybe the developers are using the chance to work from home to better connect with family, relax a bit more and this in turn might even improve the work they do.
@Zeldafan79 It's bizarre with the deliveries at the mo. Hermes & 48 hour deliveries with Royal Mail get through to me just fine, however first class takes about 2 weeks - only just got my copy of Trials of Mana.
we all know this already im expecting tons of game delays
@sikthvash
As far as i have heard UPS and the regular mail is still operating but it sure is sucking how long it's taking. I don't know if i should keep waiting or file a claim with ebay. I want my stuff dangit!
Nintendo is affected just like everyone else right now. I feel like a lot of people are just emotionally drained and not shocked by things related to the virus anymore - but the situation has not gotten any better. Some places are opening up in a desperate attempt to help the economy, but we're still seeing thousands and thousands die from this virus every day and tens of thousands sicken...
I wonder what service he's referring to...
Edit: MyNintendoNews seems to think most software will launch on time. They included a quote where Furukawa said software currently in development should release as planned. I'm paraphrasing, but it seems like this is a big "maybe." Ofc, there will probably be a delay, there's no getting around that...
To be expected given the global scale of current problems.
@Heavyarms55
Luckily, WAY LESS people are dying now from other diseases and causes.
Nintendo expects Switch software shipments to dip from 169 million units during the 2019 fiscal year to 140 million units this current fiscal year (a 17% decline), which may imply that they have already internally delayed 2 or 3 big titles out of this fiscal year.
At least 2021 and maybe 2022 will end up being better from a software slate perspective. 2020 has been a wash so far.
@sikthvash Guess I got lucky then, as I received a first-class parcel from ebay in just two days!
I don't really care about production of hardware, where the hell is the next Nintendo game???
This is to be expected. Anyone moaning is just dumb.
Never in my life did I expect to see something the likes of coronavirus/covid-19. This is one for the history books.
@MrBlacky yeah like... Nobody.
Somehow other illnesses have taken a holiday to allow Covid 19 to do its thing.
So generous of them.
Not to mention the common flu, that kills many people each year and has exactly the same symptoms.
Covid needed help to bring up the numbers so the common flu stepped in.
Lack of testing helps the flu cover for Covid deaths too.
It's all happy families in the virus world...
@vio history books?
There will be entire history classes on this, with papers to hand in and tests to do. Multiple books to boot.
@MrBlacky I don't suppose you have some source for your assertion?
@Heavyarms55
I donˋt know for your country or wordwide, but where I live, death from heart attacks declined about 40 % since Corona. What a coincidence.
EDIT: I remembered wrong. It wasn't deaths but number of cases. Still ...
@MrBlacky Again, do you have a source for this statistic?
@Heavyarms55
Of course.
https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000116664444/anzahl-der-herzinfarkte-in-der-corona-krise-um-40-prozent
@MrBlacky Interesting. I don't speak German but I can respect that you're willing to provide a source. Many people right now are just throwing numbers around and when you ask them where they got that info, they never provide.
Lucky for Nintendo they don't have any game dates to delay, b/c after XC they don't have any games dated.
@Heavyarms55 "Nintendo is affected just like everyone else right now."
Is Nintnedo really just like everyone else right now?
Ubi - AC:VAlhalla is everywhere in the news right now, except NL
Sony - TLoU2, Ghost of T are releasing soon
CDPR - Cyberpunk 2077 is coming
MS - big Xbox game reveal this morning
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2020/05/inside_xbox_how_to_watch_the_may_2020_xbox_series_x_gameplay_reveal
Nintnedo - everything is delayed, blame COVID-19
While the industry as a whole may be in somewhat of a slowdown, every company besides Nintneod seems to at least be making an effort to keep us informed and release games this year. Nintendo has rumours of Mario re-releases but thats' about it. They could at least tell us about those if they are true.
@rjejr And what's going to happen to those companies if they make these promises and cannot deliver? Personally I would rather Nintendo not tell us things they are not confident they can do right now. It's always better to say nothing if you think there's a real chance you cannot fulfill your promises.
@rjejr you talk like those games (TLOU2 and Valhalla) just started production.
Also, there's this...
https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-series-x-game-delays-phil-spencer
Kinda flies in the face of your argument. I don't expect you to acknowledge that, though.
That Xbox event today is for third-party software, btw. Again, software that has likely been in development for years. Nintendo also stated they believe most software in development will make it out on time. Nintendo Life is just posting clickbait with their headlines today. Even MyNintendoNews said Furukawa stated most software should come on time. If MyNintendoNews isn't giving you the most negative take possible, the situation is probably not so bad.
@IronMan30 @Heavyarms55 It reads like both of you are saying that despite merging their handheld and software divisions years ago, and this being the Switch's '4th years on the market, and 3DS not getting any new games of significance in years now, Nintneod was waiting until the start of 2020 to make new games for the Switch this year? Maybe Nintneod should have started making games for 2020 before 2020 started?
Yes, Xbox is getting 3rd party games today, but Xbox is promoting it. What's Nitnneod promoting? Switch ins't getting AC: Valhalla that we know it, it isn't getitng TLoU2, it isn't getting Cyberpunk 2077 that we know of, it isn't getting Ghost of Tsushima. What is Switch getting in 2020? Other consoles ARE getting games in 2020, even if those games get delayed again, which I dont' think they'll get delayed out of 2020.
Ninntedo, as always, is too tight lipped. They doin't need to date game, btu surely they coudl show us something of all fo these new MArio games they are suppsoedly releasing this eyar, or Zelda BotW 2, or Pikmin 4 which has been "nearly complete" for 4 years but they've never even officially announced. Or Metroid Prime 4. Yes I know they restarted MP4 but that was 1 1/2 years ago now, they don't have a screenshot after 18 months?
Surely somebody at Nintneod has been working on a game they planned to release in the 2nd half of 2020, but I can't name 1 that was ever announced for then. Other companies have games announced for 2020, not every company is sitting around doing nothing but saying "but the pandemic...".
@rjejr Nintendo is like this every year. They often don't reveal their biggest releases, which usually release in the second half of the year, until months in.
Nintendo's first party output is more prolific than Sony or Microsoft. We'll get something tasty for the holidays and second half of the year assuming this settles down a bit and doesn't turn into Spanish Flu 2: Electric Boogaloo over the Fall/Winter months.
@MrBlacky Didn't read the link (can't read the link, really), but, speaking from an American perspective, I know a LOT of people have been avoiding the hospital as much as possible if they feel like they can muscle through a problem themselves. Are people having fewer heart attacks, or are fewer heart attacks being reported because people are dying at home and the virus is sucking all of the air out of the room? Because it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense for this situation to dramatically decrease heart disease in any country.
One type of death that has significantly decreased in the States, and I'd expect this worldwide, is death from automobile accidents. If people are driving less, then fewer people are going to be hurt overall.
@Ralizah I'm not sure about nationally, but here in MN we have an interesting statistic: car accidents are down, but car accident fatalities are up. Go figure.
Not at all unexpected, unfortunately. Delays are understandable; pretty much all industries are reeling from this and needing to change their workflow in a very short amount of time.
I suspect most Nintendo games with solid release dates will still release on time (or at least close to their original date), but whether or not physical copies will be in stock totally depends on the region and speed of shipping. Anything after June/early July seems to be in limbo right now. It kinda stinks, but I can live with it. More important things to worry about besides when the next big game will release.
@Bunkerneath my guess is some time next year
@rjejr I'm sorry but pointing out that Switch isn't getting TLOU 2 is moot, you might as well say that PS4/5 aren't getting Smash Bros.
In any case, this is normal for Nintendo, and you basically just complained about the delivery method they've gone with for 6 years. Anyway, even MS basically said "but the pandemic..." in the link I posted. They also won't show first-party software until July. And on top of that, rumors say Nintendo is going to allow third-party companies to show off games whenever they want. It isn't on Nintendo to promote them. MS is going out of their way to promote third-party software, which is commendable and not really a knock on Nintendo. I'd say be fair in your analysis, but since this is Nintendo that's impossible for you.
@TheDanslator That's really interesting. I wonder why? That seems like it would fly in the face of reduced automobile activity.
@Heavyarms55
I try to see it level-headed as much as possible. There are to many people on both extremes.
@Ralizah Reduced overall activity led to more people driving recklessly. The roads are relatively clear, so dummies are taking more risks.
It's like anything in this pandemic. You can't assume one trend is paying off positively overall. One person cited reduced heart failure as somehow significant, but it's just people neglecting getting care and dying off the grid. There's going to be an untold number of preventable deaths as a biproduct of this crisis. We won't know the true cost for a long time to come.
@rjejr I'm sure Nintendo has games they've been working on for years. But you have to consider all the problems with production and distribution right now. Whether you believe the danger of COVID-19 or not, sure you understand how all that's messed up? Shipping, production, stores, etc are all having problems right now. In America something like 25-30 million people just lost their jobs, governments around the world keep changing the rules, etc etc.
Nintendo isn't going to want to say "Yes, we're releasing this game in August." If the infrastructure they rely on is telling them "we don't know if we can meet that demand. Because most people would still blame Nintendo anyway.
I can totally understand this. So give us vc instead please 😉
@NintendoByNature Totally with you there
@wazlon I'd honestly be set til 2021 if they did. I've spend 100 bucks or so, and be content
To be expected, really. I'm not gonna complain. I'm blessed with enough games, & to begin with, gaming's a fun pasttime/hobby, not the very thing that defines me.
You know, we really are feeling the effects of this here at Nerd Noise Manor.
My daughter turns 13 next month, and is wanting a Switch for her birthday. We can find Lites a number of places, but she wants the full-fat version, because, just like me, while we both prize the ability and flexibility to play handheld, her much preferred way to play is docked, on a decently sized TV, lounging on the couch, or bed, or whatever.... with just a controller in hand.
Only there is nary a full-fat Switch proper to be found anywhere within hundreds of miles of Des Moines, and no one even allowing you to get on a backorder list. For us, it's pay a hawker an obscene mark up in the second-hand market, make do, regrettably with a Lite, bide our time in the hopes of an improved availability (which is what we've been doing so far)...or just try to find something else with which to make the kiddo happy... on a major milestone birthday in which she is probably going to have to miss out on the festivities of a big party anyway due to lockdown.
Here's to hoping something will come available. Otherwise, I'm kinda tempted to just give her a choice between a brand new Lite, or my old Launch-Day Switch to tide her over til we can get her a proper one - who knows when, so she can at least play Switch on her own right away.
Fingers crossed.
p.s. oh, I'm also in "pre-order jail" on a TG16 mini. Initial ship estimate 12/31/20. Now they've actually pushed it back into January 2021. Yikes!
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