The Electronic Entertainment Expo, the signature video game industry event held annually in June, has been cancelled because of fears of the spreading coronavirus outbreak. In a statement, the show's organizers, the Entertainment Software Association, said the decision to cancel E3 was completed after "careful consideration" and discussions with participating companies. "Following increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we felt this was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented global situation," said the ESA in a statement. "We are very disappointed that we are unable to hold this event for our fans and supporters. But we know it's the right decision based on the information we have today."

Your iPhone, television and video game console were likely made in China where the deadly coronavirus is shuttering business operations as scientists race to find a cure. Apple, LG and Amazon are just a few of the household names that are taking measures to protect local workers and business travelers from the deadly outbreak which seemingly began in the central city of Wuhan. As a result, China's manufacturing output is being delayed in ways that will become more pressing as time goes on. Consumer electronics isn't the only sector being rattled by the outbreak that has killed over a thousand people and sickened thousands of others worldwide. Airlines have largely restricted travel into and out of China, curtailing tourism.

Qiang Yang, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, was looking forward to AAAI, one of the big artificial intelligence conferences, which takes place in New York this week. Yang was due to present an award-winning paper describing a way for an AI algorithm to perform image recognition by drawing from different datasets without ever revealing their contents. He decided to cancel his trip due to the global health emergency triggered by the coronavirus in China. Yang estimates that around 800 attendees from mainland China, about a fifth of the 4,000 registered for the conference, will miss the event due to a travel ban imposed by the US on Monday. "It's a big pity," Yang says via WeChat from his home in Hong Kong.

Amid the fear and intrigue surrounding the coronavirus, people are downloading a simulation video game in which players use real-time strategy to spread a deadly outbreak around the world. The video game's developers warn people not to take the game too seriously and to seek advice about how epidemics travel from authoritative sources. The coronavirus has sickened more than 4,500 people and killed more than 100. The illness originated in China before moving to other parts of the globe, including the USA. Plague Inc. is an 8-year-old app and PC game in which users play the role of a disease intent on infecting the world with a pathogen.