Whenever the Electronic Entertainment Expo ends, we often wonder what next year could hold purely based on the absences of the current year. When Sony revealed that it wouldn’t have a PlayStation Experience to round out 2018, all eyes were on their E3 2019 presser to answer any lingering doubts. However, the company recently announced that it wouldn’t hold an E3 presser next year, making it the first time it’s ever skipped the expo in 24 years.
Not only that, but it wouldn’t hold an off-site event similar to Electronic Arts’ EA Play either. In an official statement to Game Informer, Sony said it wanted to “innovate, think differently and experiment with new ways to delight gamers”. It further added that it was “exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019”, which it couldn’t wait to share (in due time, we imagine).
What other reason could there be for Sony’s absence though? According to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, it may simply boil down to the lack of new things to announce. “It is because of the timing of new games. They just don’t have a lot of new things to announce in June. I think it’s a mistake to skip the show. They will probably be there without a big booth. It was a surprise to me,” he said to GamingBolt.
Sony still has a decent slate of PS4 exclusives to talk about, including Ghost of Tsushima, Dreams, Death Stranding and The Last of Us: Part 2. It wouldn’t be impossible that a different event is held at some other time of the year, not unlike its post-E3 presentation where it revealed the PS4 Pro. Still, we’ll have to wait and see what “new and familiar” ways Sony has in mind when it comes to showcasing its wares.
