PlayStation May Once Again Be A No-Show At E3

Sony shocked the world in 2019 by pulling out of E3, an event it had attended every year since PlayStation's inception. Now there's word that might not have been just a one-off occurrence, and that Sony could once again skip out on E3 in 2020.

This news comes from VGC, which reported earlier today that — according to some sources — E3 2020 is not on the PlayStation team's agenda. The outlet also noted that Microsoft believes Sony won't be at E3 this year, and wants to take full advantage of the absence.

That all was seemingly backed up by industry analyst Michael Pachter, who actually gave Sony a bit of grief for its purported decision.

"As far as I know, they don't plan to attend," Pachter said. "I think that's a huge mistake, as their 'focus on the consumer' is not inconsistent with their attendance at the premier industry trade show. I hope they change their minds, but am sceptical."

If all of this reporting is accurate, it feels like it could be the nail in the coffin for PlayStation's presence at E3 going forward. You might recall that, last year, Sony's Shawn Layden had some not-so-flattering things to say about E3.

"The world has changed, but E3 hasn't necessarily changed with it," Layden said at the time.

And the PlayStation brand as a whole seems to have moved in a different direction entirely. In a statement last year, Sony said it was "exploring new and familiar ways to engage" with fans outside of E3. That manifested itself in its Nintendo Direct-like State of Play streams, which have served as Sony's platform for PlayStation news ever since.

While we certainly can't see the PlayStation 5 being revealed in a State of Play video, it sure looks like Sony could opt for a different way to reveal the system — and hype the content for it — than in years past.

We'll keep an eye out for official word from Sony and fill you in should it arrive.