Sony Pulls Out Of E3 2019; Will Not Exhibit Or Hold Press Conference
Some very disappointing news just came down the wire from Sony. It turns out they are skipping E3 2019 and will not exhibit any games or even hold a press conference around the time of the show. We’ve seen some industry giants like EA and Activision try different venues and experiments to better engage fans and the gaming community over the years. As of now Sony is saying they don’t plan to have any off-site activities during E3 and they will not be participating in anything around the time period the show is to take place. Game Informer reached out to Sony for clarification:
“As the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community,” the company told Game Informer in a statement. “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. We are exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019 and can’t wait to share our plans with you.”
When asked if Sony would push its event off-site, similar to how Electronic Arts provides a show adjacent to E3, PlayStation senior vice president of communications Jennifer Clark elaborated further saying, “We will not activate or hold a press conference around E3.”
It doesn’t get any clearer than that! Sony went on to further say that the timing of the PlayStation Experience (which was usually held in December) and E3 (which is typically held in June) didn’t allow Sony to properly speak to its fans and to continuously wow them. Are they planning on delivering news via a Nintendo Direct-like method, or will they try something completely new? Time will tell!
Regardless, we can’t help be disappointed in the news. Sony has always been a major part of every E3 since its inception and them leaving the show should have a major impact on the entire proceedings. If other tentpole companies decide E3 just isn’t worth their time and money then we could very well see the entire collapse of E3. This would be unfortunate because that week has always been special for video game fans to geek out for a few days and see all of the major announcements unravel. We’ve referred to it as the gamers’ Super Bowl of sorts, and we’d hate to see that disappear. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
[Source: Game Informer]
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
