Microsoft executive vice-president of gaming Phil Spencer has teased that Xbox has “a lot to share” at E3 2019. Spencer tweeted about the event moments after Sony announced it would not be attending E3 next year.
“A lot to share with fans at E3 2019. Always a high point of the year to witness the industry’s creativity and the energy of the community,” Spencer tweeted. An hour later, Xbox followed up by tweeting out to fans that the company “can’t wait” to see everyone at E3 2019. Although the company has not confirmed it, one of the announcements that Xbox is looking to share could be the new console teased at E3 2018.
Xbox may be presenting at a different time for E3 2019 as well. Xbox business lead for Asia Jeremy Hinton tweeted that Microsoft would be moving its presentation time in consideration of Australian viewers. We’ve reached out to Microsoft to confirm, as well as whether the company intends to have its E3 presentation outside the event hall, like this past year.
The absence of Sony from E3 2019 will be the first time the company won’t be attending the event since E3 was founded. Sony has shared the spotlight at E3 with both Microsoft and Nintendo for a number of years, so it’s a fairly big surprise to see the company willingly sit out. The first details that Sony wouldn’t be in attendance were announced via the ESA. Sony followed-up with a confirmation.
“As the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community,” the company said in a statement to GameSpot. “PlayStation fans mean the world to us and we always want to innovate, think differently and experiment with new ways to delight gamers. As a result, we have decided not to participate in E3 in 2019. We are exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019 and can’t wait to share our plans with you.”
