Coronavirus could have a rather disastrous impact on the video game industry, as a whole. The fact of the matter is that a lot of console parts are manufactured in China, where the virus has hit the hardest. As a result, Nintendo Switch units are expected to become quite a bit scarcer, and one retro console has now been delayed as a direct result of the virus. Konami has officially announced a delay for the TurboGrafx-16 Mini, for an indefinite amount of time. The system was set to go on sale March 19th. Konami released a statement, explaining the delay.
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“We deeply apologise to our customers for the significant inconvenience, and we humbly ask for your understanding and patience while we keep our close attention on the situation. We are investing all of our efforts to deliver the PC Engine Core Grafx Mini as soon as possible, and will provide further details on the deliver timing once confirmed.”
Retro consoles have been around for quite some time, but the majority were of questionable quality, created by third party manufacturers. The success of the NES Classic Edition seemed to show publishers just how lucrative these consoles could be, and a number of high-quality offerings have seen released since. Of course, while systems like the NES Classic Edition and the Sega Genesis Mini were bound to generate heavy interest from gamers, the TurboGrafx-16 Mini was always going to be a rather niche product, which has caused some concern among fans that it might end up scrapped entirely.
[Notice]
We have added the notice “Regarding the manufacturing and shipping delays of the PC Engine Core Grafx mini products due to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)” to the official website. Check here for more details: https://t.co/W5xh8v09Z7#CoreGrafx pic.twitter.com/JE5fWWpI1f
— KONAMI Europe (@konamieu) March 6, 2020
Konami’s interest in overall video game development has been rather limited over the last few years. While the company continues to release retro collections such as Castlevania Anniversary Collection, new iterations in beloved franchises such as Castlevania, Silent Hill, and Metal Gear have been few and far between. Given the company’s strong interest in compilations at the moment, it seems likely that the TurboGrafx-16 Mini will still see a release in some form. That said, fans could be waiting for some time.
Are you interested in the TurboGrafx-16 Mini? Are you concerned about Coronavirus’ potential impact on the video game industry? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
