The coronavirus pandemic is impacting almost every factor in everyday life and Sony has now announced plans to make adjustments to the PlayStation 4 in light of the virus. There have been a variety of online platforms that are taking measures to give stability to the internet in order to help with the coronavirus pandemic. After announcing measures to decrease the bandwidth taken up by PlayStation services in Europe, Sony has now announced that similar measures will be implemented worldwide tomorrow.
The PlayStation consoles are the most successful home consoles of all time in terms of sales and with this longevity, the PlayStation has had to overcome many issues from generation to generation. With this said, the coronavirus is undoubtedly had the biggest economic and social impact in many years. With many staying indoors because of the virus, it will likely result in more players using the online features of the PlayStation 4. The online features will still be available but they will be slower.
Sony explained the changes, "Players may experience somewhat slower or delayed game downloads but will still enjoy robust gameplay," and offered sound reasoning behind the decision as it stated, "we will continue to take appropriate action to do our part to help ensure internet stability as this unprecedented situation continues." It is unclear how significantly the online services for the PlayStation 4 will be affected, but giving authorities and the increased amount of players the appropriate bandwidth is a key priority for Sony.
There are numerous changes in the gaming industry that are ongoing because of the coronavirus. Many will hope that service resumes as normal as soon as possible, and these changes do ensure that the appropriate resources are delivered to the right channels and may even quicken the resolve of the pandemic. Staying at home is a vital aspect of decreasing the spread of the virus and Sony has encouraged players to keep safe during these challenging times. Many players will boot up the console now that they are spending more time at home because of self-isolation and social distancing.
The coronavirus has caused the shipping of physical copies of games like Resident Evil 3 to be impacted, and there may be further disruption in the industry. The issues that the coronavirus evokes are widespread and multi-faceted, and it would not be surprising to see further measures by numerous platforms as the pandemic continues.