PlayStation is Skipping E3 2019

Sony won't be appearing at the biggest event in video gaming.

Nov 20, 2018

By: Max Cannon

As a company, PlayStation often walks away from E3 having left a great impression on their eager fans looking to learn more about Sony's latest games. However, the massive video gaming company has announced that they'll be skipping E3 2019 entirely for the first time in E3's 24 years. While this seems like some bad news this decision may hint at the future of PlayStation.

Sony Skips E3

PlayStation's showcase is normally a huge highlight of the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo which is most often held at the LA Convention Center. E3 is an event that invites tons of fans and members of the gaming press to interview developers, try out the latest games, and see announcements of what's to come. Though they're considered by many to be one of the main attractions, many of the large conferences hosted by these massive publishers are Pre-E3 events and made to hype up the expo but aren't officially a part of it. And it's not just companies with consoles that make a big splash at the show, many third-party publishers like Ubisoft, EA, and Square Enix come by to show off their biggest games.

PlayStation Experience will also be skipping a 2018 showing.Courtesy of Sony Reconsidered

So with PlayStation deciding to bow out of this event, Xbox is the only one of the big three console manufacturers to have their own on-stage showing at E3 2019. Nintendo always has a presence at the event but since the days of the Wii U, the Big N has decided to stick to video presentations, just like their Nintendo Direct videos throughout the year. However, PlayStation confirmed that they don't have any plans to do any sort of event around E3 which seems to rule out the idea of them presenting a PlayStation Direct type of video. So, what gives? Why would they skip out on the biggest venue to announce upcoming games?

Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4) 2017 E3 Gameplay

The Successor to the PlayStation 4

The PlayStation 5 has been long-rumored until being recently confirmed by a Sony executive. Leaks and rumors have even suggested that the console could be announced next year and released sometime in 2020, with Xbox speculated to have a similar release pattern. If this is true then there is a wide window for PlayStation to easily win over a crowd at E3, so why skip the event? A leaker, who also claimed that PlayStation would skip E3 2019 a day before they confirmed it themselves, suggested that PlayStation could reveal their latest console during next year's PlayStation Experience which is Sony's annual showing of all things PlayStation. What keeps this speculation interesting is that Sony also decided to skip PlayStation Experience, or PSX, for 2018. So PlayStation could just be saving their breath for that event to really show off the console in an explosive way.

Will Sony show off the PS5 in an event similar to the one used to reveal the PS4?Courtesy of Game Dynamo

Though it's a painful decision for fans of their show, it could be a smart move for Sony. Their most recent E3 showcase was criticized for showing the same games we'd already known about. Even though the new games look fantastic, there was little that surprised. And 2017's PlayStation Experience didn't fit in with fan's expectations and was mostly PlayStation executives sitting on-stage on couches and being more conversational than expected. Some may have enjoyed the event, myself included, but there was divisiveness among fans about the presentation. So, while the event will dearly be missed, it's likely that this is a one-off decision and we'll be seeing some big things from PlayStation in 2019 and hopefully a return to E3 in 2020.