Sony Not Attending E3 Second Year In A Row As It Prepares For PlayStation 5 Launch

Sony Interactive Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corp SNEJF, is skipping the E3 conference for the second year in a row.

What Happened

Sony has decided not to participate in the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), a premier trade event for the video game industry, this year as preparation for its upcoming PlayStation 5 launch is in full swing, reports The Verge.

“We do not feel the vision of E3 2020 is the right venue for what we are focused on this year,” a Sony Interactive spokesperson told The Verge.

The Japanese tech giant also said they are building their global events strategy and would participate in “hundreds of consumer events across the globe” in 2020.

“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,” added the Sony spokesperson.

Why It Matters

It is the second year in a row Sony is not attending E3.

Last year, the company pulled a no show for the first time in 24 years, mainly because the company did not want to reveal much detail about its upcoming PS5 hardware, according to a Forbes article published at the time.

Sony’s lead architect Mark Cerny first broke the news of an upcoming PS5 release in an interview with Wired in April 2019.

Later in October, Sony confirmed the PS5's 2020 release date and announced a number of upgrades to the new console, including better graphics, haptic controllers, and adaptive triggers.

Price Action

Shares of Sony Corp. rose 2.28% to $72.87 at the time of publication on Tuesday.