So Sony have officially announced that they aren’t attending E3 next year. This means no conference and no presence on the show floor. The only question on everyone’s mind is why???
Let the wild speculations commence!
Nothing to Show
This year’s E3 conference from Sony was limited to say the least. Taking a strange approach, they decided to focus on four games and showcase them in detail. This was in direct contrast to the usual barrage of game trailers and news that we’re used to. It felt at the time that we were reaching the end of PS4’s cycle and that we had these last few huge exclusive titles to look forward to. Not a bad thing as each title was very impressive. We still have three of those four titles still unreleased and it would be unusual to host another conference where all there is to talk about is three games. (I doubt that’s all they have to offer but it could be true). Better to bow out than to show that there’s very little in the pipeline for the future. I really doubt this theory but it could be the case.
Next Gen
Microsoft haven’t been shy talking about ‘project scarlett’ and their ideas for a streaming box alongside a new console. It’s very likely they will have lots to announce about these two new boxes and I’d fully expect a release date dropped during their conference. Sony have been a bit more tight lipped but it’s also evident that they’ll have next gen news to share soon. Why not at E3? Perhaps they want to release their news on their own platform and more importantly, perhaps they want to share the news at a date that suits them rather than being bound by E3.
Money
Hosting a conference at E3 and renting floor space is very expensive. Sony aren’t short a few quid so this shouldn’t be an issue. Perhaps though, they’d rather host their own showcase or conference on their own terms and at a time that suits them. Nintendo have adopted the ‘Nintendo Direct’ which has seen great success. They share news when it suits and don’t need to share the spotlight with anyone else. Sony may be adopting the same tactics here.
King of the Hill
PS4 has outsold XBox by a large margin this generation. If it were a competition, Sony would be the clear winner. Has being the top dog left them complacent? Microsoft have bought up lots of creative games developers recently and it’s clear they have plenty coming soon. Sony haven’t been so forthcoming with future projects which may be down to ego. If you’re winning….you don’t need to try as hard, right? I really hope this isn’t the case but it’s possible that we might see a flip-flop when the next generations of consoles come out. The future for Xbox looks promising but the future for Playstation is uncertain.
And that’s all my crazy speculations. Hopefully Sony put us out of our misery soon and let us know what is going on. I really want to see more transparency and ideally a list of upcoming titles to put our minds at ease.
What do you think? Have Sony got some tricks up their sleeves or are they out of ideas?
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