Since the first E3 over 20 years ago, Sony has been one of the convention’s biggest players. The E3 PlayStation Showcase is one of the most anticipated press cons at the event every year, and the brand has always has a massive presence at the convention floor. So it came as a surprise to everyone when Game Informer broke the news that PlayStation will be skipping E3 2019.
Not only does this mean that there will be no PlayStation Showcase at next year’s E3, there will also be no big PlayStation booth at the E3 show floor. This is an unprecedented move from Sony, as E3 2019 will be the first E3 without a PlayStation presence in over 24 years.
Regarding the news, Sony’s official statement to Game Informer reads:
“As the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community, 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.”
So what does this mean for E3? Well it’s definitely a big blow to the convention, especially when you take into consideration that Nintendo has not held an E3 press con for a few years now as they instead rely on releasing Nintendo Directs. While we wouldn’t have been too surprised if PlayStation’s Showcase was cancelled (given that the brand only has a couple of games slated for release), the fact that there won’t be a big PS booth at E3 is shocking to say the least.
This news coupled with the cancellation of PSX 2018 has put the gaming world into a frenzy. The fact that the brand is lying low now until next year means that Sony might be gearing up for the PlayStation 5 announcement!
What do you think? Is the PS5 on the horizon? Let us know what you think on the comments below!