According to industry insider and Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad, Sony and Microsoft are going to hold shows and announcements about their next-gen consoles sooner than many might imagine. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the cancellation of this year’s E3, the two big console platform holders are reportedly planning to talk and show more about the PS5 and Xbox Series X in a spread manner.
With E3 cancelled, a lot of the planned reveals / announcements have been moved out of that single week.
Some are now much earlier, others much later. Some still during E3 week ofc.
The first proper next gen console/games showcase is much earlier too.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) April 19, 2020
The next generation of consoles is looming on the horizon, with both Sony and Microsoft preparing to bring their new systems into the homes of gamers this Holiday. But 2020 turned out to harbor a very unpleasant surprise in the form of a global pandemic. The Coronavirus has led to the halt of many countries all across the world and the gaming industry is just one part of it.
The biggest hit for gamers was arguably the cancellation of E3 2020. The yearly gaming event was the usual venue for platform holders to show and talk about new games. Even more so when it comes to new consoles. Sony and Microsoft are still optimistic to deliver the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X this Holiday season, but with the regular events not taking place, the companies are trying a different approach.
That’s at least what industry insider Danial Ahmad claims. His claims are backed up by Eurogamer writer Tom Phillips who states that game announcements will be spaced over a longer period towards the launch of next-gen.
Without a firm deadline to hit for E3 builds and with teams having lost time moving to remote working, expect announcements to be more spaced out this year. We're going to get what were E3 reveals in May, June, July… https://t.co/RTnWHlfYiN
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsEG) April 19, 2020
With Microsoft having shown and talked extensively about the Series X, all eyes are naturally on its most direct competitor. The PlayStation 5. Sony has been much more reserved when it comes to their new console but Ahmad hints that the PS5 showcase will happen earlier than the now-canceled E3 time period. It needs to be pointed out that these plans could still change since the entire pandemic situation makes it very difficult to firmly predict what’s going to happen even next week. Let alone in the coming months.
But for now, we are hoping to see Sony finally open the floodgates by showing the PS5 and next-gen games in the not so far future.
