Aside from the obvious fact that covid and lockdowns have caused utter chaos is almost every industry on earth I think people who complain about this kind of thing also underestimate just how tight the crunch is in the gaming industry, and especially at SE. You would have to have the empathy of a genuine psychopath to miss the genuine conflict Yoshida had about delaying Endwalker so close to release, the game obviously wasn't quite ready and that's after a lengthly development cycle. WHen everything is that tight it's not hard to imagine how complications caused by the pandemic can really effect the end product.

As for server issues, in my opinion the conspiracy theoirists who think the parts shortages are a hoax are just as dumb as any othe conspiracy theorist, right up there with flat earthers and fake moon landers. GFX cards have doubled in price, you can't get a PS5 even if you sacrifice your granny and the car industry can't keep up with demand, businesses from all walks of the economy and the media are all talking about it. To claim SE are just using it as an excuse is rediculous and just proves that anyone making that claim hasn't been out of the house in about 5 years.