With the coronavirus pandemic seeing a number of high profile studios and publishers forced to work remotely, it seems many are worried about the output of some of gaming's biggest names. Nintendo in particular has been the focus of a lot of concerned fans, with the company going on record to discuss the potential effects the pandemic could have on this year's Switch lineup.
Yet, a recent shareholder meeting at the company seems to put a lot of these concerns to rest, with Senior Managing Exec Officer Shinya Takahashi and Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa discussing the issue with an investor. During the meeting, the pair were asked about the status of their remote work initiative and what measures they were taking to continue doing business amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Interestingly, the pair both answered incredibly positively, with Takahashi claiming "while product development is a little behind schedule in some areas due to the impact of COVID-19, game releases planned for this fiscal year are currently not affected." This fiscal year will end next March, so everything Nintendo is currently working on for that time frame is seemingly well on target to hit its respective release date. That being said, Takahashi is quick to elaborate that this could all fall to pieces if a potential second wave were to hit. "If the impact of COVID-19 is prolonged or becomes more severe, we may not be able to release future titles in line with existing plans," he claims, reminding Nintendo's investors that the state of the world is currently wholly unpredictable.
Naturally, fans are probably wondering what on earth Nintendo actually has planned for this fiscal year, with the company remaining silent about its plans heading into the Fall and Holiday seasons. Shuntaro Furukawa was quick to explain the company's approach to marketing when challenged by an investor about this exact issue, stating "this year, none of the large industry events are being held because of COVID-19... Nintendo also has no plans for any such events. We intend to use other methods flexibly in order to deliver the latest information on our products, so please stay tuned."
With many surprised that Nintendo's announcement of Paper Mario: The Origami King seemingly came out of nowhere, it seems wise to expect more announcements of its ilk going forward. With numerous reports citing several potential Mario remasters are coming to Switch, it seems likely they'll drop later this year, while some other major sequels are bound to follow suit.
Source: Nintendo
