Sony Is Skipping Out On The Biggest Gaming Event Of The Year
Next year, for the first time in E3's history, Sony will not have a presence at the massive gaming expo.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, is one of the most important events in the gaming calendar. It’s a time when all the big video game publishers try to one-up each other with exciting trailers and reveals of upcoming games, each wanting to be the kid who gives the best gift at the birthday party. Well, almost all the big publishers. In a surprise move, Sony has confirmed that it won’t be bringing anything to the party next year.
“As the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community,” said Sony in a statement to Variety. “PlayStation fans mean the world to us and we always want to innovate, think differently and experiment with new ways to delight gamers. As a result, we have decided not to participate in E3 in 2019.”
That means no press conference, no show floor booth, and no announcements of big new games from Sony for the first time in E3’s history.
Sony: We’re pulling out of E3
E3 Hype Train: pic.twitter.com/MWkH5NVKwf
— Will Potter (@thequiffisdead) November 15, 2018
Sony Execs: “alright guys so E3 is just about 7 months away, we need to blow socks off like we always do. Tell the teams to get their trailers ready”
Random Employee with a stack of crumbled up papers and bedhead: “BUT SIR GOD OF WAR AND SPIDERMAN ALREADY RELEASED!”
Sony Execs: pic.twitter.com/aXVm9WCfQb
— Satomii🌈 (@KantoPancakes) November 15, 2018
As developer of the PlayStation and publisher of games such as Marvel’s Spider-Man and God of War, Sony has been a regular fixture at E3 since the inaugural event in 1995, where it announced the price and release date for the first PlayStation. Last year, the company demoed samurai game Ghost of Tsushima and showed off footage of the upcoming cordyceps zombie game Last of Us Part II, which featured some of the most realistic kissing video games has seen yet.
However, the revelation of Sony’s absence in 2019 is less strange in light of the fact that the company cancelled its annual US PlayStation Experience event earlier this year because they didn’t have enough to show. Usually held in December, the PlayStation Experience expo was established in 2002 and showcases upcoming games for the console.
Speaking to the PlayStation Blogcast last month, Sony Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden said they “wouldn’t have enough to bring people all together in some location in North America to have that event. We don’t want to set expectations really high and then not deliver on it.”
It’s disappointing for sure, but looking on the bright side, there are some rumours and speculation that Sony pulling out of E3 is another sign that the company is focusing its resources on preparing the PlayStation 5 for a 2020 reveal. And just because it’s all quiet on the E3 front doesn’t mean there won’t eventually be more developments on the way.
Said Sony to Variety, “We are exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019 and can’t wait to share our plans with you.”