No matter how you look at it, E3 has always been about Microsoft facing off against Sony, with each trying to outdo the other year after year. It’s a dance we’ve become used to and one we expect to see at E3 each year. Until now.
Sony has confirmed that they will not be attending E3 2019. Rumours first started doing the rounds of Sony’s absence from the Expo when the ESA, the company who organises the event, shared some details about what they have planned for 2019. Strangely, Sony’s name was absent even though Microsoft and Nintendo have already committed to the event.
Sony later confirmed that they would indeed be skipping E3 2019. Their reasoning is that they are looking for new ways of interacting with their community.
“As the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community, 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.”
Sony also decided not to hold it’s annual PlayStation Experience event this year, which signals the first time in four years that they will not be hosting the event. The electronics giant revealed that they just don’t have enough new things to show to justify the event.
Many have pointed out that the reason for this is that Sony is currently all hands on deck as they are getting ready for a PS5 launch. This makes sense as they might rather want to make the announcement for the new console during another PlayStation Experience event next year, which is held closer to the holiday season rather than doing it at E3.
It’s also important to note that many publishers have over the years decided to hold their own parallel events rather than being part of the main E3 expo. Could Sony’s departure be the beginning of the end for E3 or does this signal a new direction for the expo?
