Sony Interactive Entertainment Skipping E3 Again!

It’s only the middle of January, and yet major announcements are already happening. E3 is just five months away and things are shaking up already with Sony (once again) skipping E3. The reasons are many … For one, many believe that E3’s influence and cultural relevance is slowly dying. Last June, roughly 66,000 people attended the show, which is down from 69,000 the year prior. For comparison, Gamescom — Europe’s largest fan festival and industry-focused gaming convention — has stood firm with roughly 370,000 attendees the past two years.

E3 doesn’t have the best reputation either. When the show opened to the public in 2017, it was immediately branded a “mixed bag.” People attending the show were rightfully frustrated by the long queue times and alarmed by the show’s lax security, which didn’t include metal detectors or bag checks. Two years later, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) — the show’s organizer — accidentally leaked personal information of more than 2,000 journalists and influencers. They’ve also criticized the trade association for defending loot boxes, but has since announced it will soon require Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony to disclose the odds behind them.

It seems the ESA is planning a major shakeup for this year’s E3, and it might not be to Sony’s tastes. Last September, a leaked pitch deck revealed that the event will turn into a “fan, media, and influencer festival” in 2020. The shakeup includes a focus on “high-flow game pavilions” and on-floor “activations,” which usually means statues and celebrities that fans are likely to photograph and share on social media. In the pitch deck, the ESA said these could include watching the LA Lakers play a basketball video game on the show floor or seeing actors compete in a friendly tournament.

So, why is Sony skipping E3? It’s not 100% clear, but rumor suggests that Sony’s main reason for missing E3 in 2019 was disagreement/tension/conflict with the ESA, which could be the driving factor here. Whether or not it’s true though is to be determined, however, Sony released the following statement:

“After thorough evaluation, SIE has decided not to participate in E3 2020. We have great respect for the ESA as an organization, but we do not feel the vision of E3 2020 is the right venue for what we are focused on this year. We will build upon our global events strategy in 2020 by participating in hundreds of consumer events across the globe. Our focus is on making sure fans feel part of the PlayStation family and have access to play their favorite content. We have a fantastic line up of titles coming to PlayStation 4, and with the upcoming launch of PlayStation 5, we are truly looking forward to a year of celebration with our fans.”

The ESA has responded with the following:

“E3 is a signature event celebrating the video game industry and showcasing the people, brands and innovations redefining entertainment loved by billions of people around the world. E3 2020 will be an exciting, high-energy show featuring new experiences, partners, exhibitor spaces, activations, and programming that will entertain new and veteran attendees alike. Exhibitor interest in our new activations is gaining the attention of brands that view E3 as a key opportunity to connect with video game fans worldwide.”

If Sony won’t be at E3, where will they announce and reveal the PlayStation 5 to the world? Going off the last time SIE unveiled the PlayStation 4, they had their own show called “PlayStation Meeting” back in 2013 … so we may learn there or from their next State Of Play.

Hopefully we will know soon because the wait is killing me! Be sure to keep checking-in here at GamingLyfe because we’ll be on the watch for the latest news and updates.

Written by
A survivor of the 16-bit console wars, fan or horror films, and pro-wrestling. Lover of all things Sega.

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