Cero, the Computer Entertainment Rating Organization in Japan, announced it will be closing down for a month due to the Coronavirus.
On April 7, Japanese Prime minister Shinzo Abe announced the country is entering a state of emergency from April 8 until May 6. The citizens have been urged to stay home as well, in order to fight Covid-19 infections. This concerns every densely populated area in Japan, including Tokyo.
Cero’s office is located in Chiyoda in Tokyo. Due to the state of emergency, Cero’s employees will be unable to go to work safely. In consequence, Cero announced it will be temporarily closing down from April 8 until May 6. The organization will suspend all of its activities during this period.
What is CERO and why its closure due to Coronavirus is huge?
Cero is the Japanese equivalent of the ESRB in USA, and the PEGI in Europe. Cero is in charge of rating all game releases in Japan. When a Japanese game gets its Cero rating published, it means two things: either the game went gold and its development is finished, either its development is very close to completion.
Cero is a vital element to the game industry in Japan. The organization’s closure due to coronavirus will definitely have some consequences. This means that all Japanese games which were currently nearing gold status could be delayed. As they won’t be able to get a rating and be released.
In the first place, it’s important to note many developers in Japan and around the world have switched to work from home. This means that game development will slow down and get delayed. This is especially true for Japan, as while I don’t want to get into racist stereotypes, most Japanese companies can’t decide anything without meeting in person. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s Masahiro Sakurai recently talked about this issue.
Last but not least, the state of emergency could get prolonged past May 6. In this scenario, many Japanese games will definitely get delayed.
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