The editor

“By retreating from E3 Sony is in danger of only preaching to the choir”

TheEditor

Dear Sony – we must honk together

E3 has been good to Sony over the years. The company has successfully timed its biggest beats to coincide with the show time and time again. For a quick example of that, look to YouTube where four of the platform’s top five all-time videos were released during previous E3 shows: God of War, Spider-Man, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and the Xbox-skewering ‘Official Used Game Instruction Video.’

The latter is a perfect example of the company at its best, reacting quickly to a misstep by its competition and kicking Xbox where it hurt. While the seeds for the PS4’s success were born from its brand lineage, gamer-focus and hardware advantage, a chunk of its lead in the current generation started from that E3 and that video.

So why would it give up the opportunity to repeat the feat at E3 2020? My initial reaction was that Sony simply lacks confidence. That seems a ridiculous statement for a platform in such a commanding position, with a string of generationdefining hits to its name and the biggest installed user base of all time. But Sony has been quiet recently and has reportedly gone through a major global reorganisation. After all, if Sony thinks its offering for Xmas 2020 is going to blow the competition away, then why not shout about it in LA, where it can be put head-to-head with Xbox? The reason E3 works for the games industry is because it acts as a tentpole event, a huge platform for us to promote our wares. It allows everyone to come together and it’s the one point in the year where the mass media really weigh in with reporting, amplifying the combined message that consoles in particular are a great way to play games.

And that huge unified shout matters. Unlike mobile games, the console market has significant friction for consumers, after all (Stadia aside) you still have to go out and buy a console before you can play anything. The industry as a whole, in order to grow, must constantly fight for time with the likes of Netflix, which has far less take-up friction.

By retreating from E3, Sony is in danger of only preaching to the choir. It may be able to do a better job of engaging its current audience, as it claims, but it risks losing some of its ability to talk to those who aren’t already devotees.

If you’re a publisher or a developer of games, be they huge chart-toppers or smaller indie titles, that’s bad news. Whether you want to reach lapsed gamers, and get them playing franchises they once loved, or whether you’re looking to bring in those who traditionally didn’t think consoles were for them. From FIFA to Untitled Goose Game, the games industry should on occasion chant, or honk, together.

Seth Barton seth.barton@biz-media.co.uk