Sony Opts Out of E3 Again for 2020

Sony skipped 2019's E3, which made my job a lot easier but left a lot of people missing their presence as the show failed to deliver on the highly-anticipated PlayStation news that many people are excited to see. But if you thought that was a one-time thing, then I’m afraid I’ve got bad news: it seems Sony is planning to pull the same stunt at 2020, and given this is a year we’re supposed to learn more about the PS5, it’s all the more noteworthy that Sony would decline to show it off at the biggest trade show in gaming.

Here’s what they told Gamesindustry.biz:

"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."

E3 has been struggling quite publicly as late, and not just with data leaks and dropping views. Publishers are less inclined to go through the hassle of preparing a booth and a presentation for their products with a constant sense of one-upmanship, the floor is generally flooded with influencers and public, which make it hard for more in-depth press moments, and the pageantry generally doesn’t mask the fact that we’re just looking at a bunch of pre-rendered cutscenes.

Still, Microsoft, the last of the big three, plans to attend. For now.