Instead, the company is planning to attend “hundreds” of consumer events internationally, stating it doesn’t feel E3’s vision is right for what is has planned in 2020. In other words, don’t expect a PS5 announcement at E3 this year. “After thorough evaluation SIE has decided not to participate in E3 2020,” Sony Interactive Entertainment told GamesIndustry.biz today. “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.” This will be the second year in a row that Sony does not attend the event in Los Angeles. Last year the company offered a similar excuse for its decision not to attend E3 2019, stating that as “the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community.” Sony is hardly the first major publisher to ditch E3 in some way. It started with EA, which announced in 2016 that it will host its own event – EA Play - in parallel with E3. Other publishers have also been reducing their presence at the show in the past few years. Even so, E3 remains one of the largest video game trade shows of the year.
