Sonyrecently unveiled the return of its State of Play event, which has been missing in action since last December. This is likely because there has been a heavier focus on PS5 events such as theRoad to PS5 or the PS5 Reveal event, but it has left many confused nonetheless. The next State of Play takes place on August 6th at 1 PM PT, and the PlayStation Twitter account has taken extra care to point out that there will be no big PS5 reveals at the event, setting expectations ahead of time and most likely ensuring a positive experience.
Fans want nothing more than to hear more about the PS5, and rightly so. The system is set to release this holiday season, but much is still unknown about it including its price, release date, upcoming games, and more. Nevertheless,Sonyisn’t ready to abandon the PS4 just yet either, as there are bound to be a ton of players that still use that console well after the PS5 releases, and news for it should continue to flow because of that. That seems to be where State of Play is stepping in, as the PS4 and PSVR are stated to be the event’s main focus.
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Sony Setting PS5 Expectations
Fans in the comments are understandably upset, as there was a lot of anticipation surrounding more PS5 news, but in the end it is really a good thing that Sony decided to do this. The company’s past events have shown that much of how an event is received is based solely on what the viewers expect going into it, so setting expectations properly is a big part of making this State of Play successful. If fans went inexpecting to see PS5 announcementsand didn’t get any, there would likely be backlash and outrage, instead now there is some light disappointment, but the 40 minute State of Play will probably show a lot of other cool stuff.
A prime example of this is theRoad to PS5 event. After GDC 2020 was cancelled as a result of the Coronavirus, Sony opted to give a presentation online discussing the upcoming console’s hardware and capabilities. Fans went into this event expecting a console reveal or gameplay videos, and were sorely disappointed to find Mark Cerny talking about hardware specs for about an hour. The event itself was amazing, but it was poorly received because it did not meet the expectations which Sony (unintentionally) set for fans.
Sony Learning From Microsoft
Though Sony’s The Road to PS5 certainly stirred up some controversy, it was nothing compared to the Xbox Series X gameplay reveal which would follow shortly after. For quite some time, Microsoft built up this event, promising fans a first look at what gaming would look like on the next generation of consoles. Thousands of gamers watched the event expectantly only to be met with a couple in engine renders of cutscenes and abrief segment of gameplay fromBright Memory Infinite.
The event was so poorly received thatMicrosoft removed the Inside Xbox Gameplay Reveal streambecause the comments were getting so out of hand. Had it simply marketed the event as a game reveal rather than gameplay reveal, many would have thought it was amazing. It seems like Sony is learning from this mistake and, out of an abundance of caution, taking extra steps to make sure that no one goes into the State of Play event expecting anything major that won’t be there. Though disappointing right now, it will save a lot of heartbreak in the future for both Sony and fans.
Sonyis holding a State of Play on August 6th at 1 PM PT.
