After announcing that they are cancelling their annual PlayStation Experience conference, Sony’s PlayStation has admitted in a statement that they will not be attending E3 2019, the first time they have not done so since the convention began 24 years ago.
Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 as it is more commonly known, is the world’s largest video game conference, and it typically hosts talks from game and console developers and manufacturers.
Sony used to have a major presence at the expo, having attended E3 every year since it launched in 1995, which was the same year that the PlayStation was released.
Speculation surrounding their potential absence surfaced after ESA (who host E3) issued a press release that omitted Sony but included quotes and announcements from their competitors Microsoft and Nintendo.
When news outlets questioned this omission, Sony released an identical statement to Engadget, Variety, and Game Informer:
“As the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community,” it said 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.”
PlayStation senior vice president of communications, Jennifer Clark, also confirmed to Game Informer that Sony “will not activate or hold a press conference around E3” when asked if Sony would hold an adjacent event.
GamesBeat later reported that the ESA had confirmed Sony’s departure.
The news comes after Sony Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden confirmed in a promotional podcast that they would be cancelling their annual PlayStation Experience.
“We wouldn’t have enough to bring people all together in some location in North America to have that event… We don’t want to set expectations really high and not deliver on it. It was a hard decision, but we have determined that this year we will not hold PlayStation Experience.”
Many are speculating that these cancellations are stemming from the fact that PlayStation does not have any major game titles in production and with PlayStation 4 sales still going well and no confirmation on the release of the PlayStation 5 (even though we aren’t meant to call it that), they have nothing to present.
However, there are high-profile games on the release calendar, including “Final Fantasy VII” remake, Sucker Punch’s “Ghost of Tsushima”, and Naughty Dog’s highly anticipated “The Last of Us Part II”. Although, as many of these games are remakes or sequels perhaps Sony feels they will sell themselves without a push at E3.
