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Sony can no longer be constrained by a single expo.
When Sony decided to skip E3 2019, reactions were all over the place. Fans were upset because they wanted their company to be part of the festivities, while industry-goers just sort of shrugged and went on with their days. While it was definitely an nontraditional move, though, Sony managed to keep their product hype pretty consistent through their own presentations running concurrently with E3. Now that Sony’s proven that they don’t need E3 to drum up hype, rumors have begun circulating that they’ll be bailing on this year’s E3 as well.
According to industry insider Michael Pachter, Sony is not planning on setting up a booth for E3 2020. In an interview with VGC, he explained his doubts about this supposed decision.
“I think that’s a huge mistake,” he said, “as their ‘focus on the consumer’ is not inconsistent with their attendance at the premier industry trade show. I hope they change their minds, but am sceptical.[sic]”
The big question mark in this situation is the PlayStation 5. E3 would be a great time and place to drum up some hype for Sony’s next big console, but at the same time, because it’s such a big deal, they could, theoretically, dedicate their own show to its specs and games. The main thing they’d need to bank on is that nothing else shown at E3 would overshadow the PS5’s details, which is a shaky assumption at best.
