While 2020 hasn’t proven to be the best for everyone, there was plenty for gamers to drool over for the upcoming months. Sony and Microsoft released their next-gen console offerings, in the form of PS5 and Xbox Series X/S respectively. On the other hand, Nintendo continues to support its almost four-years-old Nintendo Switch with a promise of even more ambitious exclusives.
That being said, many highly-anticipated games have been delayed due to the widespread impact of Covid-19. Many studios are now suffering from development problems, as transitioning to a different work style takes some time. However, fans are clamoring for newer announcements as they are particularly excited to see the possibilities of what the new generation of consoles brings to the table. While it’s always exciting to see showcases for new announcements, Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft shouldn’t be pressured to host such events this year.
Covid-19 has caused plenty of problems and challenges in almost every industry, and the video games industry is no exception. Many games, both small-scale indie projects as well as AAA releases, suffered from several delays.
Sony’s lineup of exclusives such as Destruction: AllStars and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart all suffered from some form of delay, with release dates being pushed to a later date. While the God of War Ragnarok sequel never had a release date to begin with, fan speculation and rumors suggest that this game has also been delayed to a much later release date. Microsoft’s launch title, Halo Infinite was also pushed to 2021 due to troubled development during the pandemic. In addition to this, many other notable exclusives for the Xbox platform such as Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 and Everwild have also not received much information after their original announcements.
Nintendo’s two notable exclusives, Metroid Prime 4 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, have suffered the same fate as well. Metroid Prime 4 was already suffering from a bunch of development problems, and Covid-19 seems to have added more fuel to the fire. Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 was rumored to release in 2021, but a lack of any information until now makes such a claim highly unlikely. These are just some examples, and multiple cross-platform games have also suffered from similar problems with a few notable examples such as Hogwarts Legacy, Dying Light 2, Biomutant, and Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines 2.
While the fandom behind the games industry drives the need for such showcases on a regular basis, it doesn’t seem like a healthy practice to use such opportunities to formally announce the existence of new games. Metroid Prime 4 and God of War Ragnarok are two great examples, as both games have shown almost nothing after the reveal, which didn’t have much to begin with. Generating hype for fans of the series is understandable, but many would agree that such projects should only be revealed with some form of gameplay snippets or something substantial.
Announcing games in such a state leaves a lot of room for fan speculation and rumors, which inevitably creates high expectations. Sometimes, such expectations take an unhealthy form and can even create negative reception leading up to launch, if subsequent gameplay showcases don’t align with expectations. It’s best to let the game speak for itself, and that’s only possible when there is some form of accompanying gameplay or related information. Each of the three console manufacturers already have a lot on each’s plate and it’s ultimately best to treat fans with more of what’s next than teasing with more possibilities of what could be looming on the horizon.
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