Sony will not be at E3 2020 in any capacity, but it will still attend hundreds of gaming conventions around the globe. Plans are currently underway for its presence at Taipei Game Show, while you can expect to find the platform holder present in some capacity at the likes of Paris Games Week, EGX, Gamescom, Tokyo Game Show, and more.
Here’s the thing that’s fishy about the whole scenario: the Japanese giant may not feel its necessary to host a glitzy, expensive press conference anymore – but that doesn’t mean it can’t setup a few stands on the show floor to demo its latest games. It’ll do this at events ranging from Comic-Con to PAX and everything in between – so why is it skipping the Los Angeles show entirely?
Despite the manufacturer claiming that it has “great respect” for E3 organisers the ESA, its actions are not especially reflective of that at all. In a statement, a spokesperson said that it does not feel the “vision of E3 2020 is the right avenue for what we are focused on this year”. Historically, the convention has been a place for industry professionals, but it’s opened its doors to the public of late.
Speaking at PlayStation Experience a few years ago, former bigwig Shawn Layden seemed outright disgruntled at E3’s ambiguous identity, describing the show as stuck “in the middle of the highway [about] to get hit by cars on both sides”. Sony, it seems, would prefer a fan-facing focus – but the ESA is only taking half-steps towards that.
Of course, that doesn’t appear to be the only issue. Kotaku journalist Jason Schreier wrote on social media overnight that he’d heard word of a rift between the two giant organisations, and that does seem to explain the company’s complete absence from the convention in a year that it plans to launch new hardware and will appear at practically every other gaming event on the planet.
We’ll probably never know the full details, but there’s no question that PlayStation’s decision will put a nail in the coffin of what was once the most important week in the gaming calendar. We’ll need to see how other publishers and platform holders respond, of course, but it’s hard to have a party without the industry leader involved. And the industry leader is definitely not involved.
Comments 23
Maybe they are annoyed that they always get a terrible timeslot.
well as the ESA does everything around Microsoft so i'm not surprised Sony don't want to go anymore, i wouldn't want to go to an event where most of my target audience can't even watch it because your stuck at the arse end of the time slots in a small arena while your competitor always gets the best time and best stage
As much as I enjoyed the E3 pressers, I’m not upset by this. I’ll still watch the presentations that do get put on, and I’ll watch whatever Sony decides to do. E3 missing out on a new console launch does appear to be the final curtain call for the conference though.
Last year's show deifnitely felt like it was missing something. Sadly think it's just a matter of time until some of the other platform holders follow suit.
@Flaming_Kaiser I think you need to pay for better time slots.
I watched Sony’s last show and it seemed uninspired. I think they had decided, even before that show, that they no longer deem E3 to be beneficial.
Sony want to pick and choose which E3 they attend. You are either in or out. If I was E3 then Sony have made their choice for the future.
@Flaming_Kaiser Isn't that up to Sony themselves? Sure, the ESA are responsible for the floor space and whatnot. But it's up to Sony when they do their conference. It doesn't have to be in the same building anyway, so I don't think the ESA has anything to do with the time slots.
ESA probably leaked Jack Tretton and Mark Cerney's personal info last year, along with a raft of other Sony employees.
Not saying thats the only reason for the absence (ultimately Sony is a business and would suck up any bad blood if it was good for business), but i am sure Sony have looked at all their options and evaluated whats the best fit for them.
Clearly E3 is not a good fit any more.
And as i said on another article, Sony is probably sick of sharing the spotlight with other companies (why would you pay millions to share the headlines) when they can just host their own event?
@hotukdeals E3 need Sony far more then the other way round. Sony consistently had the most floor space and usually the best conferences.
probably annoyed with all the changes, I work in exhibitions myself and I've seen how tough it is to maintain an event year on year and keep it cost effective and profitable - prices have probably risen and then Sony have more than likely suffered. I remember hearing through the grapevine that the event was undergoing a serious move, so god knows.. it could even be that!
@AhmadSumadi If you read the article this is what its suggesting against. Why would you deem E3 unnecessary yet put up stalls at every other event from comic con to pax.
@hotukdeals you say this like sony will be hurt by E3 freezing then out for sony freezing them out. Seems unlikely.
I have no idea what usual convention floor space costs bit E3 sounds ridiculous in terms of costs
Here’s the rift the Jason claims to have heard about. It’s quite obvious. The ESA’s main source of funding comes from E3. That’s the purpose of the show. The ESA is the gaming industries lobbying body. It’s is very detrimental to the ESA to have one of the biggest gaming companies in the world stop showing up. The ESA is pissed and probably worrying about others following. Guarantee the Kotaku captain obvious has no source on this, he’s stating the obvious and using his reputation of being a story breaker to back it up. It’s actually common sense if you think about it
@AdamNovice no point in even bothering to reply to him. Always negative nonsense
@jly1987 that's really strange. You would think Sony would be wanting to help the lobby group.... Very strange.
@NomNom Probably its cheaper too do something yourself then?
@Octane If its somewhere else why would you waste money on E3 anyway? Do a big event with a stream yourself.
@Flaming_Kaiser The conferences aren't part of E3 IIRC. It's all about the floor space. That's where the media comes. The media plays the demos, interviews, etc. You know, the expo itself. And hiring a big space like that costs money.
@mini_piekarnik standard exhibitions for space only - so just the floorspace, varies from 3k upwards, for Sony at E3 I'd imagine it would be a huge area, plus auditorium access so it would probably vary from 50k plus. That's not including any other costs they have, power, build of features e.c.t. much cheaper for them to rent a space and do it all themselves.
"There’s no question that PlayStation’s decision will put a nail in the coffin of what was once the most important week in the gaming calendar" - isn't that a bit overdramatic? Nintendo, Microsoft, Square Enix, Bethesda, Sega, Ubisoft, EA... as far as we know, they're all still going to be there, and (with the exception of Nintendo) will probably be announcing some Playstation games as well. This really isn't the end of the world.
It only hurts the consumer in the end. Really poor form and there is obviously an agenda here.
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