PlayStation is Skipping E3 Again [Update: ESA Responds]

Update: The ESA has released the following statement regarding Sony's decision to E3 2020:

"E3 is a signature event celebrating the video game industry and showcasing the people, brands and innovations redefining entertainment loved by billions of people around the world. E3 2020 will be an exciting, high-energy show featuring new experiences, partners, exhibitor spaces, activations, and programming that will entertain new and veteran attendees alike. Exhibitor interest in our new activations is gaining the attention of brands that view E3 as a key opportunity to connect with video game fans worldwide."

Original story follows below:

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E3 has been one of the gaming industry biggest annual trade shows for some time now. But for the second year in a row, Sony won't have a presence at the massive event, despite the looming launch of the PlayStation 5.

Sony announced told GamesIndustryBiz that it would be skipping E3 2020, saying it will attend "hundreds of consumer event across the globe" instead.

"We have great respect for the ESA as an organization, but we do not feel the vision of E3 2020 is the right venue for what we are focused on this year," a spokesperson told GIBiz.

The PlayStation creator made big waves when it elected to sit out last year's E3, saying it was "exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community." Its absence was notable, with even Xbox head Phil Spencer noting how different it felt without the classic rivalry on the show floor.

But last year's absence didn't precede a new console launch. Sony's election to skip this year is notable with both the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X on the horizon. Rumor that this might happen had spun up last week, with Wedbush's Michael Pachter saying that to his knowledge Sony didn't plan to attend E3, and that he thinks it's a huge mistake."

We've seen notably less of the PlayStation 5 compared to Microsoft's Xbox Series X, with last week's CES 2020 stage show revealing little more than a new logo.

But outside of not having to share the stage with Microsoft, Sony skips the deluge of news and owns a news cycle. Its absence also deals another blow to the questionable future of E3, as companies continue to shrink back their presence in favor of their own forums for announcement.