Next year’s E3 conference looks to be a bit smaller than in previous years. Sony has stated that they plan to skip the conference entirely. The company issued a statement explaining their intentions:
“As the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community. PlayStation fans mean the world to us and we always want to innovate, think differently and experiment with new ways to delight gamers. As a result, we have decided not to participate in E3 in 2019. We are exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019 and can’t wait to share our plans with you.”
This move marks the first time that PlayStation won’t make an appearance in the expo’s 24 year history. Sony stated that they do not plan to have a presence around the expo, similar to EA Play. News of this comes off the heels of this year’s canceled PlayStation Experience. Many have begun to speculate whether this could mean the PlayStation 5 is launching in 2020 since the console’s existence is already confirmed.
2019 for PlayStation is not as jampacked as previous years. As of right now, Dreams and Days Gone are the only two titles slated for release in the next year. Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us: Part 2 and Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Remake have not received launch dates. With this in mind, both of those titles may end up becoming cross-gen releases similar to Nintendo’s handling of Breath of the Wild.
We can't wait to see you all at @E3 2019 ? #XboxAtE3 #Xbox
— Xbox (@Xbox) November 15, 2018
Microsoft and Nintendo have come out and confirmed that they will both be in attendance. Each company is poised to have a year filled with releases such as Animal Crossing, Gears 5, Bayonetta 3, Halo: Infinite, and a new Pokémon. Gamers can look forward to these conferences in addition to those by third parties and indie publishers.