After loads of speculation and today’s rumors, Sony finally confirmed that it won’t be attending E3 2020. While PlayStation may still be present as third-party exhibitors demo their games, Sony itself will not be exhibiting at the show, marking the second year in a row that the first-party has decided to step away from E3. The company feels that the ESA’s vision for the show doesn’t align with its own 2020 strategy, instead opting for consumer events around the world that will bring together the PlayStation community.
Speaking to Gamesindustry.biz, a spokesperson for Sony Interactive Entertainment said:
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.
This announcement lines up with Jim Ryan’s comments at CES 2020, saying that the PlayStation community is going to be a central focus this year. We took note of those comments as highlighting Sony’s overall strategy for PlayStation in 2020, and it appears that the company will be attempting to reach its fans more directly through its own fan and community events.
Though the comments don’t give an outline for what we can expect for the PS5 reveal, it does paint a pretty dire picture for E3. Sony is making a pretty clear statement that it doesn’t need the show, even during a year when it is building hype for the PlayStation 5. On the other hand, the ESA and E3 desperately need Sony, and the company stepping away from the show could be another death knell for a massive industry event that has struggled to change with the times.
Sony hasn’t yet expanded on these plans for “hundreds of consumer events across the globe,” but the Experience PlayStation event taking place in NYC over the next month could be just the start of those, gathering players in one place to celebrate 25 years of the PlayStation brand as the inevitable PS5 reveal and release approaches.
[Source: Gamesindustry.biz]
