Sony gives more visibility into its decision to skip E3 2019 as it plans to focus more on celebrating gaming rather than "dropping bombs". But looking between the lines sees Sony pushing for its own event where the PlayStation platform is front and center. Layden cited "Destination PlayStation", a Sony event that is focused on retailers and other partners, which takes place in February. "They're making purchasing discussions in February". Layden recalled the earliest E3 events where retailers and journalists would meet with the game creators to see what the studios had to show off.
You're not the first big company to bow out of the big E3 video game show in June, but I'm curious why you chose this year to drop out? In a recent chat with gameinformer, SIE Chairman Shawn Layden was uncharacteristically generous not only mentioning Switch, but also Xbox One X, and seemingly indicating Sony's future approach. Now that E3 is open to the public, the "trade" aspect of has disappeared.
'So the trade show became a trade show without a lot of trade activity.
Compare that to today and, with so many website reporting on every snippet of news and every leak nearly immediately, alongside the fundamental changes in retail over the past few years, E3 simply isn't as important. "The media landscape has changed, which you know better than anybody, and with the internet being on 24-7, there is no silent periods where people aren't getting game news".
He added that Sony right now is releasing fewer games than it ever has in its history. Even with new titles on the way like Ghosts of Tsushima and The Last of Us Part II, Sony simply doesn't have enough new content to show off on stage at E3 any more. And when Sony rings the bell for everyone to come 'round, they have an expectation for something that is completely new and fantastic.
"I don't want to put too fine a point on this because it might upset some of the people I work with, but I think effectively, we're looking at kind of a post-console world where you can have quality gaming experiences across a variety of technologies", he said. During the interview, Layden says some things about E3 that many of us have already been thinking, but also applied some real world context. "Can't it just be a celebration of games and have panels where we bring game developers closer to fans?"