Shawn Layden, of Sony Interactive Entertainment: "E3 has lost its relevance"

For the president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, the event has to change because it is no longer useful to them. He has commented at length on how it started and the current role of the fair in the video game sector.

The decision by Sony, the PS4 manufacturer that has been attending the show since its first foray, to stop attending E3 surprised many fans who were hoping to see its announcements at the show. Its conference was already a regular occurrence, causing Europeans to have to stay up late to watch it. In a recent statement, Shawn Layden of SIE Worldwide Studios explained his reasoning, which boils down to the fact that “it’s no longer relevant to them and it should change.”

Shawn Layden sees a future E3 similar to Comic Con

According to Layden, " E3 began as a trade show focused on showcasing new products to retailers and industry journalists ." We should add that it originated as the ESA's response to the mistreatment of video games at CES, which rendered their booths invisible. " In the past, retailers would see the games and consoles they would stock in the coming months, while journalists could write about them in their magazines. There was no internet, so a trade show at that time of year was exactly what the industry needed. Now, the show is no longer so focused on showing products to retailers, which was one of its key aspects. For this reason, we have an event in February called Destination PlayStation, to which we invite retailers and developers to keep them informed about what we have planned for the rest of the year, because June is now too late for retailers to discuss their Christmas stock. And journalists have the internet, which offers video game news 24/7."

Layden continued with the following words about the changes E3 has undergone throughout its history: “ It has failed to adapt, and as a result, it has become less relevant. The trade show, which was once a commercial showcase, has become anything but. The world was changing, and E3 wasn't. It has become a place where fans expect big announcements, which doesn't align with Sony's current strategy of making fewer but bigger games over a longer period. By June of this year, we have nothing new to say or announce. If we went, and the people who are there out of obligation and expecting to see something new would see that we have nothing new. I think the show needs to be more like Comic-Con, a festival for video game fans where they don't have to announce blockbusters but can bring developers closer to the fans.”

Source: Dualshockers