Sony says PS5's release date will be unaffected by the outbreak

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Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, Sony still expects its latest console to be released on this year's holiday season. Speaking with Bloomberg, a Sony spokesperson said there wouldn't be a "notable impact on the launch" of Playstation 5 this year. However, it is expected to lose profits as much as $370 million compared to its financial forecast back in February. On the other hand, since Sony's Chinese manufacturing centers were shut down to control the virus, upcoming first-party PS4 games could be affected despite having no announcement of delayed-release for titles such as "The Last of Us Part 2" to be released in May and "Ghost of Tsushima" arriving in June. "Although no issues have emerged so far, Sony is carefully monitoring the risk of delays in production schedules for game software titles at both its first-party studios and partner studios, primarily in Europe and the U.S.," in the statement said by Sony. However, plenty of employees from the company are now working from home and several of their offices are closed "In accordance with mandates from national and local governments, Sony has closed a portion of its offices, mainly in Europe and the U.S., where employees are now working from home," Sony said in a statement. "Additionally, at Sony’s offices in Japan and other areas, employees must work from home, excluding a small number of essential employees," they added.