Sony’s Shawn Layden Explains Decision to Skip E3 2019

Late last year, Sony announced that they would be skipping E3 2019. Since then, many fans have given their theories on why Sony has opted out of the event. In an interview with CNET, Sony’s Shawn Layden explained why it’s best that Sony passes on this year’s E3:

“Now we have an event in February called Destination PlayStation, where we bring all retailers and third-party partners to come hear the story for the year,” said Layden. “They’re making purchasing discussions in February. June, now, is just too late to have a Christmas holiday discussion with retailers. So retail has really dropped off. And journalists now, with the internet and the fact that 24/7 there is game news, it’s lost its impact around that,” said Layden. “So the trade show became a trade show without a lot of trade activity. The world has changed, but E3 hasn’t necessarily changed with it. And with our decision to do fewer games, bigger games, over longer periods of time, we got to a point where June of 2019 was not a time for us to have a new thing to say. And we feel like if we ring the bell and people show up here in force, people have expectations ‘Oh, they’re going to tell us something.” 

It’s no surprise to hear this from Sony, as the relevancy of E3 has been debated amongst fans over the last few years. Layden’s reasoning makes sense seeing as if you don’t have anything to reveal at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this June, there’s no reason to show up at the event. The Sony exec then went on to say that for E3 to stay relevant, it may need to transform into more of a celebratory event.

What do you think of all of this? Will you miss Sony’s conference this year? Feel free to leave a comment down below!

George Barber

• graphic design major
• listen to a lot of heavy metal
• not great with words