A reader worries that Sony has misplaced its mojo and hopes that rumors of a giant pre-E3 showcase are true, for his or her sake and followers.
At this level, it is nearly like kicking somebody after they’re right down to complain about one other disappointing state of affairs or stupid decision by Sony. There’s no question that Thursday’s was bad, but this has happened so many times now that there must be a reason for it. Sony needs to know what response they’re getting, and they have to do it on purpose for some reason. There’s no explanation that makes sense to me, but this week we’re getting some speculation.
That theory is that Sony doesn’t want to show off anything that looks too good because it would prove Microsoft’s argument that they’re doing fine just the way they are, and it doesn’t matter if the Activision Blizzard acquisition goes through. So for example if Sony were to announce some new first party games Microsoft could point and say they don’t have anything like that so they need to buy other developer to compete.
That’s certainly not something I would have thought of, but I think there’s a certain logic to it. The other part of the same rumor is that Sony is saving all their reveals for one massive pre-E3 event. However, I’ve heard that before. How many times have fans been convinced that Nintendo has a mountain of games to reveal because they haven’t had anything in months? And it turns out that they just have the normal amount and there was no big secret plan after all.
I find it hard to believe it would be any different for Sony, especially when they try to appear as harmless as possible to monopoly investigators. Logic aside, though I think it would be a good idea. Sony has been acting like a wet blanket ever since the launch of the PlayStation 5. News has to be dragged out like blood from a rock and they always seem to want to get away with the bare minimum of hype and marketing.
That aspect of things still has no explanation, I know, but I think they feel the plan, which it’s supposed to be, is working because the PlayStation 5 is selling so well. However, to us on the outside, it feels like Sony has lost its mojo, that it’s just going through the motions, and that it’s not Microsoft that’s their biggest enemy, but themselves.
I think back to some of their past E3 shows, where Sony was always way better than Microsoft, and they were so energetic and exciting for fans. Their greatest moment was undoubtedly 2015 when they showed The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Shenmue 3 (all Japanese games, you might say) all at once and the internet went wild and the PlayStation 4’s dominance of the generation was set in stone chiseled.
It doesn’t really matter what they show this year as long as it looks good, but we need that kind of excitement again. We need, as GC said, some showmanship. We need to know that Sony is passionate about what they’re doing. Now everything is presented as if success and quality are guaranteed, which is often the case, but that just comes across as arrogant and impersonal.
Sony shouldn’t come across as this indifferent, distant overlord they need to present themselves as a bunch of passionate and avid gamers. And they got their chance. Whether or not this rumor of a major pre-E3 show is true, it should be. That’s exactly what they should do.
Sales are on their side, but that’s largely because Microsoft still doesn’t offer real competition. The moment that changes, Sony will find that their success is built on a foundation of sand and suddenly, but perhaps too late, they will realize that they need to get people excited about more than just one game a year.
By reader HBR
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