How The Death Of E3 Changes Gaming Forever

8. Sony's Nail In The Coffin

In hindsight, Sony's withdrawal from E3 shouldn’t be as surprising as we first thought.

Whilst it wasn't widely noted until they backed out, Shawn Layden, former SIE Worldwide Studios chairman and the face of Sony’s conferences, made his concerns apparent. Talking about E3’s focus several times, he described it in 2017 as “stuck in the middle of the highway about to get hit by cars on both sides”, later saying "the trade show became a trade show without a lot of trade activity”.

Layden stepped down last year amidst internal company politics, but it’s a view still held within Sony’s leadership, considering E3 2020 is not in their plans either.

It seems odd to skip such a large trade show in PlayStation 5's launch year, and to many, this leaves Microsoft with an open goal when they’re planning to launch their next major hardware upgrade.

Still, this confirms that Sony no longer see E3 as an essential event for their business, focusing on other trade fares like the recent Taipei Game Show.

This presents wider ramifications for the industry, but there are more options available to Sony that didn't exist in 1995, the decision speaking volumes for how the event has changed, as well as its failure to adapt to a modern audience.