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UPDATE: Sony has now confirmed it will not be in attendance at E3 2020. The Japanese console giant has let everyone know a full six months before E3 that it’ll be absent from the Electronic Entertainment Expo for the second year running.
Sony Interactive Entertainment issued the following statement:
“After thorough evaluation, SIE has decided not to participate in E3 2020. We have great respect for the ESA as an organization, but we do not feel the vision of E3 2020 is the right venue for what we are focused on this year. We will build upon our global events strategy in 2020 by participating in hundreds of consumer events across the globe. Our focus is on making sure fans feel part of the PlayStation family and have access to play their favorite content. We have a fantastic line up of titles coming to PlayStation 4, and with the upcoming launch of PlayStation 5, we are truly looking forward to a year of celebration with our fans.”
From the gist of things, Sony feels as if its plans and method of communicating with its customers has now outstripped the worth of E3. It’s a bold, some would say cocksure move, and speaks to Sony’s intention to host dedicated events in the run up to the PlayStation 5’s launch later this year.
Original Story: 13-Jan-2019 – Rumour: Sony to skip E3 2020 in favour of its own events
Sony is allegedly planning to skip E3 for the second year running despite the imminent launch of the PlayStation 5 during Holiday 2020.
The platform holder was conspicuous by its absence at E3 2019, and barely registered during E3 2018, in truth, and it seems as if Sony is prepared to forgo the biggest gaming show in the world in favour of its own events.
Sadly we have to rely on the notoriously unreliable industry analyst Michael Pachter for this one, although the much maligned Pachter does tend to draw a line between speculation and knowledge. On this particular topic he’s putting it down to inside knowledge, so we’d be inclined to take his word for it.
“As far as I know, Sony don’t plan to attend E3” claimed Pachter during a chat with VGC. “I think that’s a huge mistake, as their ‘focus on the consumer’ is not inconsistent with their attendance at the premier industry trade show. I hope they change their minds, but I am sceptical.”
Sony is expected to be hosting its own PlayStation 5 reveal event imminently. Rumours have pointed toward a February PlayStation Meeting, although we’re in the realm of pure conjecture at this point. Connecting the dots between the PS5 and the current generation of hardware, Sony sent out invites on February 1st, 2013, for a PlayStation Meeting on February 20th. It was here the PlayStation 4 was revealed prior to its launch the following November. As the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, so we could imagine Sony adopting a similar schedule for the PS5 reveal and launch.
Elsewhere, it would appear Microsoft may be opting for a more traditional approach this year. Pachter believes Microsoft is still set to appear at E3 2020 and will present all the biggest news regarding the Xbox Series X and the titles expected at launch and beyond.
Do you think Sony can get away with skipping E3 for a second year running? Does this present a big opportunity for Microsoft to steal the limelight? Let us know what you think of below!
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