The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has been one of the great annual gaming events since 1995. It’s 24th anniversary is going to be a year to remember, as Sony Interactive Entertainment -along with its PlayStation brand – has decided it won’t be having a presence in next year’s show.
In a statement to Game Informer, the company also said that it won’t have any PlayStation events off-site either. The statement reads “We will not activate or hold a press conference around E3.”
This will be the first time visitors will not be seeing anything from Sony or PlayStation in the event. As to when and where else fans can hear more from the brand, Sony says “We are exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019 and can’t wait to share our plans with you.”
Sony’s absence in E3 next year can be quite a blow to fans, who have just recovered from learning that this year’s PlayStation Experience (PSX) has been cancelled. And the reason for both may be one and the same – that Sony has nothing new to announce for 2019. At least, that’s what Sony’s statement implies.
“We are looking at events as a whole and how we can speak more to our fans and continue to wow them. The timing of PSX and E3 didn’t allow for that.”
The upcoming game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, is slated for release on 22 March 2019, and while we’ve seen a fair bit of Ghost of Tsushima, a release window has yet to be announced. The Last of Us II looks to be released late this year or early next year. Beyond that, many other games – such as God of War and Spider-Man – that put the PlayStation 4 in the spotlight are already dominating the market.
Then there’s the matter of the PlayStation 5. With the PS4 nearing the end of its generation cycle, games slated for later than 2019 will probably be waiting to launch alongside the next-generation console.
All things considered, it sounds like it will be awhile before we hear anything new from PlayStation. All we can do is wait, but we still desperately want to know the release dates for The Last of Us II and Ghost of Tsushima.
(Source: Game Informer)
Edited by John Law
