For those hoping for another PlayStation Experience this year, I’m afraid I have some bad news. On the 308th episode of the PlayStation Blogcast, the Sony Interactive Chairman Executive and World Wide Chairman, Shawn Layden, confirmed that the all exclusive Sony event would not be happening this year. This marks the first time that the PlayStation Experience will not be held since it began four years ago. Layden states that the main reason for the cancellation was because there wasn’t enough new content to bring to the show, as he states on the Blogcast:
The reasons behind that really are we don’t have. We have a lot of progress that we’re making on our games and now that we have Spider-Man out the door, we’re looking down into 2019 to games like Dreams and Days Gone. But we wouldn’t have enough to bring people all together in some location in North America to have that event. We don’t want to set expectations really high and then not deliver on it. It was a hard decision, but we have determined that this year we will not hold PlayStation Experience.
While his logic is sound, stopping the event that many Sony fans look forward to all year has definitely raised some eyebrows. In addition to the rumored PlayStation 5 that may be in development, there are a plethora of exclusive PlayStation games that have just been announced, and some that are highly anticipated for release. Case in point, The Last of Us Part II, Dreams, Days Gone, Death Stranding, and Ghost of Tsushima are all launching on the PlayStation 4. On the other end, Layden’s reasoning could be that there isn’t any new gameplay to offer fans for the event, as they usually showcase brand new trailers and demos.
This announcement comes right off the heels of Microsoft revealing that they will be hosting their own event in Mexico City, called the XO18, on November 10-11, which will include a two hour livestream from Xbox showcasing new reveals from the company and third-party developers. With the PlayStation Experience out for the year, Microsoft will hold the only fan event during the 2018 Fall Season.
The first Playstation Experience took place at Las Vegas, in 2014. In 2015 it moved to San Francisco, then down south to Anaheim in 2016 and 2017. The event was a major success, as it became the E3 Sony event for fans and developers. Layden promised to “crank that communication” for PlayStation during the holidays, and to “find more ways to get our message out.” Sad as it may be, it appears that Sony’s decision on the matter is final, as fans will have to wait a little longer for new reveals from the company.