It is safe to say that coronavirus has dealt a huge blow to the gaming world.
ESA - the organisers of the annual E3 gaming conference - have pulled the plug on this year's event as a precaution.
They released a short statement speaking about their disappointment at cancelling the event, but reiterated that it was the "best way to proceed".
But what does this mean for the future of the gaming world for the foreseeable future? With the next-generation of consoles due to land this year, will we see further delays to developments?
Xbox Series X digital event
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One of the things gamers love most about taking to their console is that they can jump online and communicate with people worldwide without having to be in the same room. So what better way to host an event than to do it digitally?
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Well, that's exactly what Microsoft are going to do.
Whilst it likely won't be the glitz and glamour event that we're used to seeing at E3, the event will at least allow Xbox fans to hear more about the new console ahead of it's release later this year.
What have Sony done?
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Presently, there has yet to be any official word from Sony about the cancellation of E3 or any next steps on their behalf.
The issue itself isn't so much the cancellation of E3, as Sony were already not planning to attend, but more the potential inability to host public events in the future should the issues from the coronavirus fail to slow down.
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In an ideal world Sony - and Microsoft - would love to be able to allow gamers the ability to get their hands on the new console ahead of release at the demo stations which are found at events such as E3.
If that can't happen, there will have to be contingency plans in place otherwise they risk getting left behind when the consoles hit the shelves later this year.
Will there be any delay to releases?
It seems highly unlikely that we will see a delay to the release of either of the next-gen consoles themselves. However, Nintendo have been hit by production issues already so it is not outside the realm there could be potential delays to the release of games.
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There has already been a number of games hit by delays such as Microsoft's Flight Simulator as well as the Nintendo Switch version of The Outer Worlds.
If the virus continues to spread and more companies are forced into self-isolation or similar, then we could see further delays to future releases.
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