Home Gaming E3 organiser issues a desperate statement on Sony’s absence from E3 this year, promises a “high-energy show”

E3 organiser issues a desperate statement on Sony’s absence from E3 this year, promises a “high-energy show”

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In case you missed the news, Sony is skipping E3 again. Last year, Sony shocked the gaming world when the PlayStation maker decided that E3 wasn’t a necessary part of its marketing plans. Sony, dominant as they are, don’t really need a big three-day industry event to get the eyeballs on their games or their impending new hardware. In this hyper-connected world, it’s cheaper, easier and less stressful to just beam a video to the entire world; something Nintendo learned when they stopped hosting a great big press conference at E3 opting instead for their now adored Nintendo Directs.

Sony’s likely used all the media monitoring tools at their disposal and found that they’ve generated as much (or possibly even more) in the way of press and engagement without having to spend veritable fortunes on events like E3. The only thing that makes their decision to withdraw this year a little surprising is that we know this is the year that Sony and Microsoft will show off their brand new consoles, and they’d love as many eyeballs as possible on those.

And they’ll get them. Sony doesn’t need E3 – and to be honest, Microsoft and Nintendo don’t either. For the last few years, EA’s also skipped E3, moving its event offsite. Last year, even Activision gave E3 a miss. It makes it easy to wonder about the relevance and future of the trade and industry expo. While Microsoft and Nintendo will still display their wares at E3 2020, Sony’s continued absence means it’ll be a slightly muted affair. The ESA who organises E3 every year, however, says that it’ll be a regular riot.

“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.”

Yeah, okay. Honestly, I think E3 is struggling to maintain its relevance in an ever-changing media landscape. The show had significance in an era that wasn’t as connected as it is now and has struggled with its identity and place in a world that no longer needs major trade shows. The most unfortunate victims in E3’s continued march to irrelevance are indies and smaller developers who rely on events of its ilk to get attention; they don’t have the resources or built-in audiences that companies like Microsoft, Nintendo, EA, Activision and Sony have.

As for Sony? If you’re keen on what they have to show off, expect to see a fair bit from them next month.

Last Updated: January 15, 2020

31 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief

    January 15, 2020 at 08:34

    Agreed, E3 not that relevant anymore

    Reply

    • Yozzie

      January 15, 2020 at 08:34

      And hasn’t been for many years now.

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief

        January 15, 2020 at 08:34

        Many moons ago I followed E3 news intensely. Now, these days, the meh is quite strong

        Reply

  2. konfab

    January 15, 2020 at 08:41

    • Raptor Rants

      January 15, 2020 at 09:25

      Tod Howard and Peter Molyneux should get together and create a game. It would be the “game to end all games”.

      Reply

      • Pariah

        January 15, 2020 at 09:39

        This… This is true horror, right here.

        Reply

      • konfab

        January 15, 2020 at 10:32

        With David Cage doing the gameplay.

        Reply

  3. G8crasha

    January 15, 2020 at 09:45

    So, would I be wrong is stating we are witnessing E3’s death throe?

    Reply

    • Geoffrey Tim

      January 15, 2020 at 09:46

      I think E3 will still be around – but it’ll have to adapt. they’ve been trying to, by allowing consumers in etc, but I think something more needs to change.

      Reply

  4. Gavin Mannion

    January 15, 2020 at 08:40

    “opting instead for their now adored Nintendo Directs.”

    … they are garbage and I hate them

    Reply

    • Geoffrey Tim

      January 15, 2020 at 09:03

      Only a monster could hate Nintendo’s E3 directs.

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief

        January 15, 2020 at 09:03

      • Gavin Mannion

        January 15, 2020 at 09:04

        This is ridiculous garbage, maybe entertaining to someone with the mind of an 8 year old but there are adults in the room Geoff

        Reply

        • Yozzie

          January 15, 2020 at 09:04

          As a fellow brony. I distinctly remember many moons ago we had a pic of you at an event watching my little pony.

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief

            January 15, 2020 at 09:04

            I remember this quite well

          • Yozzie

            January 15, 2020 at 09:10

            I’m trying to find it, but the Lagz archives are missing!

          • Admiral Chief

            January 15, 2020 at 11:19

          • Raptor Rants

            January 15, 2020 at 11:41

            The disqus comments were removed from the old articles. Disqus doesn’t play nicely with URL changes.

            The only place it will exist is if someone took a screenshot

            *Entire comments section looks intently at Admiral*

          • Admiral Chief

            January 15, 2020 at 12:35

            @hvr has it

          • Pariah

            January 15, 2020 at 11:58

            I used to have it on my work PC, but I must’ve deleted it during a spring cleaning session at some point.

            Sad face.

          • Admiral Chief

            January 15, 2020 at 12:35

            Y U NO CLOUD SAVE

        • Raptor Rants

          January 15, 2020 at 09:25

          I don’t think there’s anything wrong with an adult enjoying some child like enjoyment. It’s healthy I reckon. I believe there’s even studies done on the benefits of play and adults being beneficial. The biggest benefit being stress relief.

          So to that I say: Bring on the 8 year old in me!

          Reply

          • Yozzie

            January 15, 2020 at 09:25

            I’m pretty sure he was just jabbing Geoff with that one 😛

          • Raptor Rants

            January 15, 2020 at 09:25

            Gavin is always super serious. I didn’t know he can have fun 😛

            *Yes I am jabbing Gav right back*

  5. Hammersteyn

    January 15, 2020 at 09:03

    The ESA defends loot boxes, so they and their little show can disappear up hell’s a-hole for all I care.

    Reply

  6. Fox1

    January 15, 2020 at 09:03

    E3 was once the darling of the industry when Sony was mic dropping and sponsoring trips for journos to exhaustively cover the event but how quick have times changed?

    Reply

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