In a story that is causing eyebrow raising in a similar manner to when Marvel Studios fist skipped Comic-Con, Variety is now reporting that Sony Interactive Entertainment, who are riding a wave of record profits based on the success of their PlayStation 4 gaming console, will not only be skipping their annual press conference at the E3 expo, they aren’t even showing up for it, at all, in any capacity. This will be the first time in the event’s 24-year history that Sony is choosing not to attend.

Sony released a statement on their skipping the expo, saying “As the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community. PlayStation fans mean the world to us and we always want to innovate, think differently and experiment with new ways to delight gamers. As a result, we have decided not to participate in E3 in 2019. We are exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019 and can’t wait to share our plans with you.”

Sony claims that with Spider-Man now out there, and with no games of equal anticipation planned until later in the year, there just isn’t that much for them to show, so better to not go than to put on a half-hearted presentation. One would imagine they will definitely want to be on hand for E3 when they announced the inevitable successor to the PlayStation 4, but who knows what they really have planned in regards to future consoles?

This move may point to big trade shows like E3 no longer being compulsory for major studios. Sony is arguably the biggest name going right now, and for them to take the year off might be a harbinger of studio-specific press conferences happening year round. A similar thing happened in the movie world with Marvel sitting out San Diego Comic-Con 2018, and holding their own announcement parties in years past. We’ll see what happens in the future.

Do you think Sony pulling out of E3 in 2019 is the beginning of the end of the expo’s relevance? Be sure to let us know down below in the comments.

Images: Sony Interactive Entertainment