Sony Admits Why It Won’t Be Appearing At E3 This Year

Sony shocked gamers when it announced last year that it wouldn’t be making an appearance at E3 2019. It’s the first time in E3’s 24-year-long history that Sony has decided not to present, and considering how close we are to the launch of next-generation consoles, it was a move that raised a lot of eyebrows in the community.

It seems like we’ve now gotten some clarity on the matter though, as Sony’s SIE Worldwide Chairman Shawn Layden opened up to CNET [via Destructoid].

Credit: Sony

Layden explained: “The world has changed, but E3 hasn’t necessarily changed with it,” referencing the way that E3 was set-up at a time before the internet.

When E3 was in its infancy, people got their gaming news from magazines rather the internet, and with instantly-available news via social media, it makes sense to say E3 is a little…old school.

Credit: Sony

Instead of E3, Layden said Sony will be doing things a little differently with Destination PlayStation.

He said: “We have an event in February called Destination PlayStation, where we bring all retailers and third-party partners to come hear the story for the year.

“They’re making purchasing discussions in February. June, now, is just too late to have a Christmas holiday discussion with retailers. So retail has really dropped off. And journalists now, with the internet and the fact that 24/7 there is game news, it’s [E3] lost its impact around that…

Credit: Sony

“With our decision to do fewer games — bigger games — over longer periods of time we got to a point where June of 2019 was not a time for us to have a new thing to say.”

So…does this mean Sony’s highly-anticipated exclusive titles, Death Stranding and The Last Of Us 2 won’t be here until 2020…?

Only time will tell!

 

Featured Image Credit: Sony.