The quarantine mandate in the Philippines has put us in a very precarious and unprecedented situation. Thankfully, we’re better equipped now to deal with the impending boredom than we were 10, even 20 or so years ago.
As gamers, we now have the luxury of taking a long hard look at our backlogs and picking out which ones to play. But some of us, backlogs be damned, are looking for the next big game to come out, and this quarantine couldn’t have come at a worst time because there are quite a number of highly anticipated titles coming out in the upcoming days and weeks.
Sadly, with the malls shutting down, our favorite retailers like Datablitz and Game One PH have all but shutdown as well. Even their delivery operations will be taking a break to comply with the government. This goes without saying that during the quarantine, all physical releases will be put on hold, until the situation gets better.
Here are the biggest game releases that will be taking a hit based on the quarantine duration of March 16 – April 12:
Doom Eternal (March 20)
Animal Crossing (March 20)
Persona 5 Royal (March 31)
Resident Evil 3 (April 3)
Final Fantasy 7 Remake (April 10)
The physical releases for these titles will most likely be delayed since the Quarantine period covers all of the above. Yes, even Final Fantasy 7 Remake, sadly.
Take note that as of this writing, no official word has been put out by local game retailers or even official game channels like PlayStation Asia about the delay of these SPECIFIC titles but logic dictates that as long as the quarantine period is up, which consequently means that all local game retailer branches are closed in the Luzon area, then the only other way you’ll get to enjoy these titles on Day one is to go digital.
[UPDATE: Datablitz has issued an advisory regarding Animal Crossing, giving out a 500PHP GC to pre-orders that have been struck with the delay.]
We’ve put up a guide on how you can keep your gaming sessions alive via digital so you could try it out and see if it works for you!
Getting your G on with the Q on: How to continue gaming during the Quarantine
Videogame Content Editor. A father and gamer. Would gladly trade what’s left of his soul to witness a Final Fantasy 6 and Xenogears remake done during his lifetime.
