Pachter: “Sony Making a Huge Strategic Error Abandoning E3…Dumb Strategy…Biggest Loser”

Michael Pachter isn't afraid to say what is on his mind, and on the latest episode of his AIFTD Games show Pachter Factor he lays into Sony for skipping E3.

[Jin_Sakai]

“Pachter: “Sony Making a Huge Strategic Error Abandoning E3…Dumb Strategy…Biggest Loser”

He’s right. PS5 isn’t selling well. There’s no great exclusives. There’s no upcoming games to look forward to. All thanks to abandoning E3. What a disaster!

[VenomUK]

I remember first becoming aware of Michael Pachter from the Geoff Keighley show Bonus Round on Gametrailers. I’ve always found him to be interesting and entertaining, and he explained some of the business of how gaming companies operate. He was new to the gaming industry so there were big gaps in his knowledge and he had a natural bias to US companies. One thing that hasn’t changed over the years is he, like other regular guest Stephen Totilo, he always had a natural bias. He regularly would say Sony’s going to do badly and its competitor will do better!

His problem is he thinks it’s still the dark days of the early PS3 generation. He predicted Xbox One ‘would do gangbusters’ against PS4. Then every year in the early years of that generation he predicted a reversal.

As for E3, missing E3 didn’t hurt Sony in 2019. This year Microsoft has a good E3 and if Sony had a press event it wouldn’t have lessened the Xbox messaging.

[UltraNova]

Sony opting out of big industry events is a loss to them, not Sony. That said, not giving us those big reveals is also not a good thing as it helps hype their games and brand (I'll never forget GoW 2018's reveal) and let's be honest,10-20 minute ramdom State of plays doesn't cut it, for me at least.

I really hope those rumors wanting PSX return are true, I'd love to see an annual PS event were Sony goes all out to impress by having actual devs and execs come up on the stage to talk us through their games and plans for the near future.

As for Patcher, what can I say the guy is as irrelevant as they get these days.

[Sonic-and-Crash]

is this guy still "alive" ? lol (i mean in videogame industry world)

Sony is doing the best move to abandon E3 -...no free money to managers , exhibitionist, advertisers, managers etcetc....and still people gets what they want-> big reveals of their best next projects in State of Plays

if i miss that hype and summer excitement of a big game event with reveals and trailers that all are competing betwenn themselves ??--yes i miss the thing a bit ....

but is ridiculous saying that Sony leaving its consumers in the cold or doing a bad move ...to the contrary has fed us well with trailers ,gameplays, tons of games etc

[VenomUK]

@UltraNova. Sony not being at E3 and Sony not having a press event are two different issues.

This year's online E3 was an online event and I don't think Sony lost currency from staying away from what has been called the 'Worst E3 ever.'

https://www.gamesindustry.b...
https://www.reddit.com/r/e3...

As for Sony not having ANY press event... last year, many in the media were complaining that Sony is 'too quiet' and 'why doesn't it talk to us often as Microsoft' but the two companies have different media strategies it's just that Sony does thing its way and its not at the E3 timeline.

I'm leaning more towards the idea that Sony IS going to have a full press event (not a regular State of Play). It is now mid-July and Call of Duty hasn't been revealed yet, not even the next, next-gen version of GTA V and there's not likely to be any big surprises with that so it would have made sense to have the trailer drop by now unless it's being held back. And with Forspoken due for early 2022 a Sony conference would be a good stage to show all these off.

[Obscure_Observer]

@VenomUK

"This year's online E3 was an online event and I don't think Sony lost currency from staying away from what has been called the 'Worst E3 ever."

You posted an article from Gameindustry.biz which dates to 2017 and some random dude crying on reddit about Take Two not revealing GTA VI and overall disappointment because his "steaks were high".

Lmao. What a rubbish.

[gamer7804]

It’s not good for the long term skipping e3 all the time. It’s certainly no fun for the consumer

[RaiderNation]

99% of the console buying public doesn't even know what the hell E3 is. Get real. Sony skipping E3 only aggravates the media and the hardcore gamers which is a very small number of people. It changes nothing except it saves Sony a bundle from expenditures.

[gamer7804]

@raidernation so you agree then it isn’t fun for consumers who are aware. Those who are ignorant won’t care either way this a better negative.

[Atticus_finch]

Sony already said they would have more to Show before summers over. Let's be real Sony has the most upcoming 3rd, 2nd and 1st party games of any console. They have plenty to show.
And it's not easy for devs to have a working, good looking, playable demo early in development. That's why many publishers choose to do CGI. And let's not forget how lame CGI reveals are. At least to me.

[RedDevils]

@gamer7804 Funny an xbox fan worrying about what Sony do, irony.

[ScootaKuH]

E3 is no fun for the consumer either.

[WillyC009]

This is so incredibly off the mark it’s not even funny, just clueless.

As a consumer, I couldn’t care less about E3. It’s been irrelevant to me for years and the showings from most who attend stink. It’s all fake hype, random celebs and zero substance. I’ll pass just like Sony is.

[lancer]

Sony doesn't need to show up at E3 to prove they can still provide the best games.

And Raider is right. Not a lot of people even know what E3 is. All they want to know is if the console has games.

[RaiderNation]

@gamer7804

Do I agree that it frustrates me that Sony skips E3? Sure. Does it affect my love of PlayStation or my future buying habits with the platform? LOL, not even a little bit. It changes nothing in that regard and that is the reality for almost all gamers. Virtually no one out there is saying "Sony is skipping E3, therefore I am not supporting the platform." And the ones that are, they make up a number so infinitesimal that it doesn't even remotely move the needle in terms of sales.

I would also say that what is or isn't "fun" for the hardcore gamer in regards to Sony skipping E3 is completely insignificant and is not even remotely factored into Sony's decisions for the direction of the platform, nor should it be.

[gamer7804]

@raidernation it’s not insignificant many gamers, press and industry execs have talked about it. I would much prefer if Sony showed up. I also have all of the consoles, I play on Xbox the most. Then PlayStation and lastly switch. Looking forward to bayonetta and Babylon’s fall on those

[Seraphim]

I agree w. Pachter. Only because I miss their presence and showcase. While E3 is no longer a trade show it's still a major event in the gaming world alongside TGS. Though I also understand why Sony doesn't necessarily need to or feel the need to attend E3 in this day in age. With internet availability and a shifting focus to [even E3 the past numerous years has been online] it's probably cheaper & makes more sense for them to just produce State of Play videos for games when Sony is ready to show them. Instead of putting together a show with games coming anywhere from 6 months from now to 2+ years. Or the infamous announce trailer 5+ years before a games release. However, I still missed not having Sony doing a presentation and will miss it in the future. 2 cents

[GameZenith]

What exclusives?

Horizon, GoW and GT7 are all PS4 games that are ported over to PS5.

[Jin_Sakai]

Exclusive that you won’t be playing on Xbox.

[jznrpg]

So every MS game isn’t exclusive then? Plus they haven’t released anything this year at all

[JackBNimble]

Jin
Don't worry I'm sure all will come to pc soon enough.

Oh and considering how big sim racing is on PC , I'm surprised GT series is already on pc.

Jznrpg
Sonyboys have been saying that for years we're just playing your games now.

[Wulfer]

You know what E3 and Gamescom are right? It's not for you (well it wasn't in years past) its for developers to meet together in one place to talk about the future and even create / lockdown future deals. Yea, your right Sony should stay away from these shows you wouldn't want to give Nintendo or Microsoft more time to talk to all these companies that attend. Ooh you wanted Sony to stay home, oops.

Edit: WoW so many comments below and none of them know why these show's exist. Here's a hint it isn't for you! The conferences are for you, the shows are not for you!

[majiebeast]

Hey dumbass how do you meet during a digital event.....

[bunt-custardly]

Bit of a disingenuous response considering these events sell tickets to members of the public and have done for quite some time. It's how the organisers can recoup some of the millions it costs to host these things. Day one of these events is always buisness and press. The others are consumer. You are correct the events are for deals to be made and wares to be showcased but it's not all closed doors. These events generate a lot of hype/interest for products from the press and attendees alike.

[Wulfer]

(Didn't finish the post)

True fact: before 1995 E3 was never open to the public. I was able to go under business marketing to the Atlanta 1997 Show. (I miss those days) I was able to go once again (for marketing in 2002 at the LA convention show). Too bad you guys will never see what I saw those years! The shows of today pale in comparison and man did they give us a lot of stuff. The last day of E3, they just gave controllers, shirts, accessories etc.. away because they didn't want to pack things back up to send home. It was incredible. I had bags of stuff for 3 whole days. Still have some of that stuff. I have a Panzer Dragoon Orta logo pin on my desk as a reminder of those days. I bet those Pokémon balls are worth a pretty penny too now. Nintendo shot them out of a air cannon all over the Nintendo booth once an hour. Funny you could see masses of crowds running to the Nintendo booth at the end of every hour.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Considering that everyone is moving on to do their own online stream/presentations, I could see E3 completely dying off in the future, I'd be happy if the big 3 just had their own mini expos once or twice a year.

[GameZenith]

Again, what exclusives?

All of the big upcoming games you dont even need a PS5. Horizon FW, GoW2 and GT7 can all be played on the PS4.

"We believe in generations"

[lancer]

Should I day the same thing for Microsoft as well? What great amazing exclusives can I get that's not on PC?

[jeromeface]

it isn't selling well? funny... no one can find one in stock anywhere...

[DeadlyFire]

Ps5 actually is selling pretty well. There are plenty of upcoming games as well. Sony just hasn't revealed them yet. Sony needs to showcase them. Even when they were not at E3 at first they had a showcase every year. Why this year EA, Sony, Call of Duty all decide to do a much later showcase. Idk.. It's very odd.

[Kaze88]

Uhm what? Sony skipping E3 is dumb, yes...but wtf is the rest of that. PS5 is selling out, there are no consoles on the shops, because they sell out....how is that not selling well? There's no great exclusives, uhm. Sony is the one that actually have exclusives and great ones at that (Spider man miles morales, Ratchet and clank rift apart, Demons souls remake, Returnal) when compared to xbox currently. The only and big reason why there is no upcoming games for Sony, since they skipped E3, that one you hit right on the nail.

Sony's new strategy seems like same strat as Nintendo, the difference is that now that Sony USA is in charge they think they can do what the fk they want. Though that could not be further from the truth, they have the lead yes, but they have more eyes on the now than ever before. This silent marketing, skipping well known/sought out events, pulling out on JP market, censoring the 3rd party but not their own games, demanding money for crossplay, telling people they believe in generations when they are doing the opposite, charging 10€ more from their games, charging from upgrades is getting out of hand. Could you even be more out of touch from the gaming communities?

[Wulfer]

Hmm take the advice of unknown internet posters or take your on experiences at E3 from marketing? Tough choice there. (majiebeast) I'll forgive your dumbass statement because you didn't have a chance in this fight.

[CaptainHenry916]

Microsoft and Bethesda made a error announcing a lot of their games. Most won't release until 2024-2025.

https://www.google.com/amp/...

[LordMaim]

I was confused until I realized you were being sarcastic.

[Cockney]

This guy is as irrelevant as e3 itself

[shepherdzeMan]

And the biggest loser

[Unknown_Gamer5794]

There’s one thing I have to hand to the guy though. No one’s paying me for my armchair opinions. It seems that at least 99% of the time he’s either playing Captain Obvious, or way out to lunch. This is definitely one of those out to lunch times.

Yet, the guy somehow still has a career. I honestly don’t get it, but I suppose this world is full of things I don’t get. He doesn’t even need to be right. Seriously, what the heck?

Also, who thinks this guy’s thoughts are so great that they warrant so many articles? Who is the intended audience here?

[Einhander1971]

I agree who employs this guy and pays him.

[SoulWarrior]

This years E3 was one of the worst ever, not a big mistake at all, demand and sales prove that.

[KillBill]

They needed more white guy playing flute stuff?

[SoulWarrior]

I wasn't a huge fan of Sony's E3 2018 with it's slightly bizarre structure, part of me definitely missed their big conferences, but for me the last great E3 was probably 2016.

[enkiduxiv]

As goofy as it was, the 2018 Sony press conference was the best ever. I know its an unpopular take but think about it. Everyone hates the lack of game play in E3 trailers. That conference had massive gameplay trailers for Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, Last of Us 2, Control, and Resident Evil 2 Remake.

Also, consider the quality of the games revealed. Even if you hate Death Stranding, everything else on that list is top notch. The only thing that was kind of lame in the end was Kingdom Hearts 3, Control and Re2 remake were game of the year contenders and they didn't even highlight the show. I would take another roster of games like that in exchange for a little flute playing any day.

EDIT: Oh, and Marvel's Spider-Man got its first big gameplay reveal there as well. All of the best Sony titles in the back half of the generation and several high quality third party titles were there and show substantial gameplay footage. What more could you want?

[-Hermit-]

Uh oh, Pachter's back.

Why does this guy's name get dropped so often? I honestly don't know a single person interested in the thoughts of Michael Pachter.

[IRetrouk]

Highest revenue and profits ever in gaming....when was the last time playstation was at e3🤔
Seems e3 needed playstation more than playstation needed e3🤷‍♂️

[NeoGamer232]

I am not sure that high revenues, profits, being sold out, etc. are a measure of whether a company should attend industry trade shows.

When I look at it, I look at it from a brand building and gamer mind share perspective. From both those perspectives, I am not sure skipping is all that great of an idea.

Or.... Lets put the question this way.... By not attending did that help Sony get new sales from people looking at what console to buy, or by not attending did it help them convert Nintendo or XB fans to Sony? To me, not showing up did not help either of those scenarios.

[IRetrouk]

I didnt say it was did I? I simply pointed out that not being there hasn't had an effect, and it hasn't..... I'm all for e3 and other gaming events, I love them as a gamer, unfortunately, like it or not, e3 is not needed and does not hold influence or sway in consumers buying habits anymore, its a ghost of its former self, sony have not been at e3 for 3 years now, it hasn't affected them even slightly negatively, e3 needs playstation, not the other way around.

They have constantly been building their brand and gaming mindshare without e3 for 3 years now, the sales alone prove this, never mind all the views their state of plays and other videos get. E3 is not needed for this anymore, at all.

Would attending e3 have really changed the mind of a predominantly xbox or nintendo fan anymore than their state of plays? I don't think it would, their aim is to reach all gamers, not just a particular sub section or fanbase, their state of plays and other event videos pull in higher numbers than e3, so why do they need this particular trade show, the simple answer is they don't.

[rakentaja]

The highest revenue can by no means be a good indicator for user base. Sony is not willing to expand the Playstation as a brand and just collects money. For example, Microsoft is investing heavily in Game Pass, Azure technology and xCloud (play everywhere) to name a few and whatever is "Microsoft HoloLens".

[IRetrouk]

High revenue is a very good indicator of a solid, strong fanbase, what are you talking about lol?

So ps plus, ps now, and ghakai were nothing? What about Psvr? Stop while your ahead man, you talking crap and not making sense.

[chiefJohn117]

He's right Xbox just outsold them in NA for June because of e3. If Sony was there with some games to show this probably doesn't happen. Now the hype and clear picture for Xbox pipeline is known while we scratching our heads at PS about what's next.

[Elda]

It was clearly because of supply.

[chiefJohn117]

Lmao supply issue. Stop the cap! Suddenly the month e3 happens Xbox magically became super stocked and ps5 didn't put any console on shelves 😆

[ShadowWolf712]

@chief there are literally Series S consoles still sitting on shelves. Xbox has had more supply over the last month, there's no denying that as a factor.

[Darkborn]

I've literally seen Xbox series S especially, but some series X consoles just sitting in stores, sometimes for days or weeks. If a single ps5 comes in, the cops have to be called to stop the mobs.

[DarXyde]

I'm not scratching my head.

You must not have been paying attention to games that have yet to release but have been announced. Many cases, you have an idea or window of when they're coming.

I am however scratching my head at Starfield: how does it look, how far along is it, and when will it be releasing? Perfect Dark?

Knowing what's next is one thing. WHEN what's coming is another.

It's weird and disingenuous to say you don't know what's coming. Not a full roadmap at this time, but there will undoubtedly be announcements this year, very likely at their own events and TGS.

[chiefJohn117]

Hmm interesting Starfield has a release date tho? So why wonder? We finally know perfect dark is coming after rumors. So how you scratch your head at these but not GOW with no release date? Or what those other 25 ip they working on we have 0 clue about? Wow. Make it make sense

Rest of world? E3 is an American show just like TGS is a Tokyo show. Guess what will have more pull in their respective countries

[DarXyde]

chiefJohn117,

Release date on Starfield, I'll give you that one - I haven't kept up with that since it wasn't mentioned at the E3 event. Still curious to know how it looks in action and how far along it is. Perfect Dark, we are indeed aware it exists. But I have the same 3 questions (progress, how it looks in action, and release date).

For God of War, I address that in the third sentence of my referenced comment: "Many cases, you have an idea or window of when they're coming".

Regarding the 25 other IPs, that is incorrect: They said 25 games, with half being new franchises. I think that's an important distinction, and I'm not going to let you frame it that way unchallenged. To answer your question, I'm not scratching my head on those either. I literally have no idea what I'm waiting for. These are total unknowns. Am I curious? Yeah. But it's not really anything I'm actively speculating about at all. Sony seems pretty intent on not revealing anything too far out from release this generation, which is fine - they're actually addressing something that members of the Xbox community criticized them for, so I think you should understand and appreciate the motive there.

I don't really care about what is a bigger pull in respective countries (sidebar: do you think Tokyo is a country?). For me, personally, I care more about TGS. Japanese games have always been my bread and butter (hence, I'm quite fond of my PS4 and Switch). Even so, Sony has PSX to talk about their games with a more western appeal. But if we're talking about events and pull, what about online? Sony's personal events and announcements are pretty well-disseminated, I would say. On the official PlayStation YouTube channel, Horizon: Forbidden West has 7M views; compared to Microsoft's E3 event of 2M views on their official channel, I'd say it probably doesn't make the difference you believe it does (or rather, does not have the negative impact on Sony in the west that you believe it does). Mind you, this is a single game that appeals to a specific type of gamer, versus the breadth of a full event featuring many games. This is not to belittle Microsoft--I thought they had a great event. What I am saying is that Sony is just fine doing what they're doing.

[IRetrouk]

So e3 only affected the American Market? What about the rest of the world? You think e3 had more of an effect(in one single territory) than simple supply and demand?

If e3 was the cause we would see it in far more places, but we don't, why?

From what I remember the actually difference in units was only 4000 odd, if that's all e3 managed to do for the xbox then I'd question how much it actually helped, it didn't translate to worldwide sales and a slight bump while both are constrained really doesn't point to e3 having an effect on anything.

There is also a clear release schedule for playstation games, not sure where your getting that we don't know what's next, you have access to the same info the rest of us do🤦‍♂️

[chiefJohn117]

Ps5 was outselling XSX by nearly 2:1 every month soooo that'll mean Xbox sold double the amout they usually do. Context my friend. So a simple showed pushed Xbox forward says a lot and understandable as we know their pipeline now and the buy looks much more attractive cause you know what you're getting and what's coming.

Let's not be in denial please. Xboxs doesn't simply double+ their sells randomly

[IRetrouk]

2:1 worldwide, not 2:1 in America, and it still is around that... so not really sure what your talking about here, your not making sense.

Again, xbox sold just under 4000 more units in America than the playstation did, overall ps5 sold 60000, xbox sold 64000, not sure where your getting it sold double what it usually does, because the numbers certainly do not show that....at all, and if all a simple show, as you call it, can do, is a few extra thousand units in one territory, then it's definitely not worth the outlay at all.

I'm as excited as you for xboxs new games, it's my main issue with ms and they look to finally be fixing it, but i live in reality, with facts, not made up wishful thinking.

Again, they didn't double their sales....not even close. Facts are denial now? Damn since when?

https://ibb.co/9nXdKJV

[WillyC009]

Very few on here more clueless and off the mark then chiefJohn117. Most of what he says is utter nonsense and comical. The best part is he actually thinks he’s sharp and is catching individuals in a ‘got ya’ moment.

[patriz420]

Remember that time xbox outsold Playstation that one month in America only! So alot of people bought the weakest next gen console being the leading seller series S...wow amazing!

[oldenjon]

That's one month, PS5 has sold about twice as many units total, and in that same period PS5 sales dominated in India. PS5 is still selling out in US, so this is likely a result of Microsoft prioritizing supply in the American market after e3 more than anything. Sony is also concerned with the global market where it's significantly in the lead. Not worth discussing unless the trend continues, and Sony has PSX later in the year so....

[chiefJohn117]

People told me E3 would have 0 impact when I said it would, this proves I was right they were wrong, nuff said. Nothing more nothing less. Hold the L, those people can't admit they were wrong and deep down they knew they would be. By the tried their hardest to downplay and manifest their views

[dbcoops]

"in dollar sales" doesn't mean units sold, not sure how many times this has to be explained.

You go ahead and scratch the rest of us will be playing Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Stray, Little Devil Inside, Horizon Forbidden West and a plenty of multi-plat games like Far Cry 6, Back 4 Blood, Battlefield 2022, Dying Light 2, etc. Actual Playstation gamers know the pipeline and know they have plenty just around the corner and in the not to distant future.

[DOMination-]

The Xbox Series S is a lot cheaper so I almost guarantee it will be more units as well

[TheTony316]

So E3 is only affecting NA? Why not the rest of the world? This was a supply issue.

[ElvisHuxley]

@chief "Stop the cap!"
Let's examine the situation here. Two console developers, both dealing with supply constraints. One has huge demands all across the globe, and is outselling the other at least 2:1, the other is really only relevant in one region. One company has to meet the massive demand with their limited supply across many regions, whilst the other can focus most of their supply in the only place that really wants it. Let's be honest, it's tough to get either one, but everyone knows it's a bit easier to get an Xbox, even in the US. Furthermore, even if you couldn't work out this basic supply and demand scenario, Michael Pachter has a history of being wrong on almost everything. You could've probably make a decent living better against his predictions if such a betting market existed. Gotta admire that loyalty and optimism though.

[SpineSaw]

No disrespect but just how many years was the picture unclear for the Xbox pipeline??? can you go back that far, were you even a gamer back then? And why did we need Microsoft to clear anything up about their dude-bro games that they release over and over and over we all know there coming. While over at Sony 3 of the top 9 games sold in June in the USA were Sony First Party Games so why exactly do they need to clear anything up.

[Rude-ro]

There is no factual information on this.
You got your information from a place that HAS to mark it as rumor.

Microsoft has not released any information per hardware units for a decade now.

Sony sold 217,000+
Microsoft sold an “estimated”(Ie unknown) 121,000

So your “won” is beyond narrow minded and very sheep-ish

[chiefJohn117]

VG showed it outsold ps5 too
Just hold the L a ton of ppl made the bet against Me that Xbox would see no sells rate increase after E3 and it did. Yall coming up with excuses and irrelevant stuff. Doesn't matter what you believe it sold better after e3, hold the L like a man.

[SpineSaw]

@chiefJohn117

"VG showed"
Ummm just stop please. I got no issue with the people at NPD putting out info but VGChartz is just making up numbers and then saying them out loud and its nothing more than that. They have nothing to back those numbers up.

[sourOG]

They didn’t miss anything with the last E3. What a dud. Pulling out from everything to do these state of plays might work out in the future but as of right now it’s a massive fail in my view. I would like to think they are holding out for a super event but I won’t hold my breath

[Elda]

Says the most selling new-gen console that's always selling out & hard to find. Sony hasn't been to E3 since 2018 & the platform is doing great.

[Knightofelemia]

Patcher is about as useful as a well used barf bag the stuff that comes out of I think he just likes to hear himself speak more then anything. Sony abandoning E3 lets see COVID played a factor and quite honestly money wise it's just cheaper to announce games on a stream or put together a 30min show on Youtube it works with Nintendo. E3 I admit there are people who like it hell I wanted to go just to see the shows but E3 is dying. Patcher needs to see that from his Flinstone powered car things change, times change, companies change. He seems to forget that shit costs money renting the building, flying in the staff to promote the game, hiring the staff to set up the show, hire a band just to show 2-5 minutes of a clip of a new upcoming game. Like I said way cheaper going the Nintendo route and show the stuff online bring some staff in to talk about the game snap a finger they are talking about another new game.

[oldenjon]

What was that about Ghost of Tsushima lacking market appeal again?....

[majiebeast]

Yeah remember this clown saying that ghost had no main stream appeal cause asians pretty much.

[Destiny1080]

doesn't he say this every year, to me its like the launch of a new phone, some have there own separate event and some will be announced at the big tech events, would apple be ignored if they had a separate event

sonys event will be in august, and the media & fans will be watching

[isarai]

Sure bud. They've been absent from E3 for how many years now? Yet they are doing better than ever. E3 itself has been such a dead husk of what it used to be for YEARS anyways, i wish it still had the same weight as it used to but it doesn't. They're fine without it

[dbcoops]

So he does nothing but complain about how awful E3 was but then claims Sony is making a huge mistake by not attending, sounds like Sony made a wise choice actually. Pachter still be Pachter apparently.

[CrimsonWing69]

E3 was a trade show that wasn’t open to the public back when it started. The purpose was to show vendors what games were coming out for them to stock up on. It now morphed into this consumer thing and honestly it isn’t relevant anymore. It’s cheaper to just do directs. E3 is expensive to set up space for and doing all this elaborate theatrics. You get the same result with a direct and it’s cheaper.

I hate that E3 is all but gone… however, this year’s E3 was absolutely abysmal so I can see it going away without much effect

[MasterChief3624]

He looks like McLovin. I never noticed that until now.

[mastershredder]

Heh, Okay Pachter, you flipping hack.

[Deathdeliverer]

Pachter and Weather people are the only ones that can be so wrong and keep their jobs.

[ChickenOfTheCaveMan]

Sure, because E3 was such a huge deal this year, or last year...gtfo

[n1kki6]

LOL, this after everyone basically shitting on E3 for the last half decade. Pachter is a contrarian, not an analyst.

[Bronbron92]

I don’t get how this is suddenly being brought up as an error sure they’re missing If not the biggest one of the biggest events in gaming and it does look bad missing the past 2, but I think it’s also fair in its own way of not having to be apart of a show with your competition why is bad to have your own event where no one has anything else to show

[zahdab]

At this point "Patcher said" is equivalent to the "crazy lady in the metro" said to me

[Gamer75]

So they dragged him in from the wild to make another prediction

[shaenoide]

When was he about something for the last time?

I miss the old days of E3 but on a market POV Skipping E3 was not a bad move from Nintendo and Sony.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

Says the guy who needs the platform to validate his input.

[Petebloodyonion]

Now I know how many ppl love to hate Pachter and laugh when he's wrong or suddenly saying how it was obvious when he right (remember he said day 1 the Vita would fail because it was not properly marketed and aimed at the wrong crowd ) but perhaps ppl should actually listen to the podcast before posting on the forum.

1) The biggest losers are the fans according to Patchter because they couldn't attend the event and interact.

Now in regards to Sony Pachter is saying they are a loser because the publicity generated from E3 is really cheap compared to the cost.
He goes on to say that you can't usually buy that level of publicity for 25 million.
And he's right,
It's the same reason why Disney pay the big bucks to run commercial during the Superbowl
And now ask yourself
How come all Youtubers like Dreamcast Guy, John Riggs, Metal Jesus, Angry Joe, John Hancock, RG85, etc... are all now praising Gamepass and often praising Xbox? How come All the PPL want to interview Phil Spencer? How come Gamepass is the thing that we hear more and more in the media?

[derek]

Don't lie to yourself Pete, the media has been religiously praising gamepass for years now, hasn't moved the needle. At the same time these same youtubers have been jumping on any phony negative playstation story and hyping it up to no end, still hasn't moved the needle in xbox's favor. E3 has nothing to do with this trend at all Pete. You are right every youtuber wants to speak to Good guy Phil because he never shuts up about the future of gaming from a position of being dead last, and they need content for their channels. Still has nothing to do with e3. You think if Shu or Hulst wanted to lower themselves by speaking to some of the dopey podcasts I see good guy Phil appear on they wouldn't be on every channel to endlessly babbling away?

[BioShockGX]

And I thought he was gone for good

[plmkoh]

I never really understood this guy's opinion years ago, some of things can be insightful then they'd be outright wrong.

But then once I started understanding the stock market and how basically his firm Wedbush Securities worked it all made sense.

This guys says stuff depending on which stocks were held and he wants pumped or says negative stuff depending if he wants the stock to go down more to accumulate. Right now Sony is sky high....

[FanboysKiller]

I would rather not have e3 than a sinking show down the cesspool depreciated by tons of leaked informations that exist just to kill the fun factor , spoilers are scum.

[jznrpg]

They have sold almost 10 million consoles already and are releasing games for both ps4 and PS5 this year and at launch .

[The7Reaper]

E3 was absolutely terrible anyway, Summer Game Fest was 10× better and it also wasn't mind blowing, Sony was smart to skip it.

[JTShiny]

This guy still relevant?

[Knushwood Butt]

They have to announce new games somehow, but aside from that I couldn't care less about these things: just deliver great, high quality games day 1 please.

Let the games do the talking, not some pundit.

[ScootaKuH]

As usual Pachter is right again. Since the PS5 has been selling so badly I think it's only a matter of time before they pull a Sega and get out of the hardware race. Because they haven't been at E3 people have completely forgotten they exist. I mention my PS5 to people and they say don't even know what they are. Sony is doomed.

/s

[Rainbowcookie]

Sony as I see it likes to focus on gameplay demos rather than cgi reveals... Showing a half baked game actually does your company no good. To be honest Ps5 is still selling well and the money Sony would have spend on logistics and shows always goes into more strategic investment. MS is a richer company and they struggled to show gameplay. Nintendo like always do whatever they want. That just left 3rd party and most kinda dissappointed and we have to remember the world is a pretty weird place compared to 10 years back.

[BrettAwesome]

E3 doesn't exist anymore. Not the E3 everone cared for anyway. I miss the old days with the big stage shows and cheering fans. Now it's just a bunch of mediocre announcements and some cinematic trailers. It might as well be officially dead.

[Indigon]

So as long as PS5 supply does not meet demand what does Sony have to gain with showing off more greatlooking PS5 exclusives that most of us won't be able to play except piss gamers off even more?
They are wise to keep their cards to their chest at this stage for when the moment comes the supply is in full force.

[AndrenNguyen1471992]

This guy is a fool ... i think this is a very good stragic for Playstation Worldwide Studios .... After abanddoning E3, they keep succeed in making every best AAA games ever ... so he said they were a loser ... i'm laughing at him

[melons]

What A...Weird...Headline

[Nuvem]

He always says the wrong thing so now I'm glad Sony made the right choice.

[fxa5209]

At least E3 was not as boring as the miserable state of play that we get randomly out of no where. E3 would tell us about new games and when to expect them instead of the guessing game of Sony Fans.... WIll Sony have a big event or not? no one knows? when is the next miserable state of play... no one knows.

Jim Rayan needs to go, this is not the Sony we know. Jim Rayan also needs to shut up because he is being criticized every time he opens his mouth.

[Indigon]

What does Sony have to gain to show all kinds of fantastic PS5 exclusives when the console can't be bought?

[YourMommySpoils]

Pachter who?

[1nsomniac]

For once I actually agree with him and think its an intelligent response. in laments terms yes it's not going to effect Sony financially or their brand, at least not in the short term.

Like it or not E3 was a massive part of the industry & one that connected the business itself with the consumers. It was a big deal & hugely enjoyed by the masses.

It's not far from what's happened recently with the European football super league. The top clubs deciding that they want to ruin the game for everybody because they've decided they're above it all and want to try to monotonize it for themselves.

I think it will come back to bite them and hopefully before it spoils the connection between the industry and the fans.

[BrainSyphoned]

An Xbox fan watches soccer?! You are in a league of your own.

[derek]

Oh god, ",dumb, loser"? What's with all hyperbolic language directed at Sony these days. For all the bemoaning of Sony not going to e3 this year, all I've heard is how awful e3 has become.

[DOMination-]

Rockstar Games have really had a tough 20 years due to not going to E3. I hear they are close to bankruptcy because of it.

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

Lmao the PS brand is too big to stay tied to E3. Also a reason why Nintendo doesn't need them. Xbox on the other hand is the smaller one out of the 3.

[DaniMacYo]

Patcher looks like the That’s A Ten! guy.

[Outlawzz]

The only company doing E3 the right way to me is Nintendo with their treehouse events. Xbox and Sony should have implemented the same system. Would have been great for all the fans.

[Ratchet75]

Still can't believe investment banks are using this guy to help them forecast the industry future. Even a 🙊 playing with a magic eight ball would be ore accurate than him.
😂 😂 😂 😂 😂

[WelkinCole]

Believe the opposite when it comes to Patcher.

[Ninver]

Take the other pill with pachter

[Snakeeater25]

I love sony but most of the good games don’t even have a release date. The closest to be done is horizon and I think it’s gonna release mid 2022

[AmUnRa]

Pachte

[neomahi]

It wouldve been nice but as long as Sony does a presentation like they have with State of Play, Sony jumps right back where they need to be. E3 absence saves Sony a ton of money. Its a lot easier to produce a quick video than it is to setup a stage and tens of kiosks, etc., its expensive and, like weve always said Sony doesnt have the money Microsoft does so they have to counter that with intelligent business decisions, Microsoft doesnt have, money or not.

Gamers, PlayStation fans, and fans of gaming know the quality of PlayStation games and so long as Sony never becomes complacent there, theyll be just fine.

Pachter on the other hand, ya cant fault the guy for trying to stay relevant and making statements to try and justify having a paid job with a firm.

[MetroidFREAK21]

Has this guy ever been right? Like this guy needs to stop

[Ninver]

Could give two fks about Sony attending E3 or not. All I want is the exclusives all year round and occasional announcement of new games. The media has nothing to gossip or write about it seems.

[fitofficial]

Legit question: has Pachter ever been right about anything? Name one thing.

[jbull]

He's wrong, E3 underwhelmed this year with cgi trailers and no proper gameplay. Afterwards the gaming press is all eager on when the next Sony event is. Sony ill have far more viewing figures than any of the E3 shows.

[Dandizzle]

Sony doesn't go to E3 because it sucks now, it is really that simple.

[46player]

This dudes not too bright. He probably doesn’t even play games. Just an investor that’s not good at investing and focuses on the video game industry.

[enkiduxiv]

I have no problem with them skipping E3. I just wish they would set a standard date for their big conference. It would give us all something to look forward to, instead of just debating whether or not they are going to hold an event at all.

[MrSec84]

Sony were the ones carrying E3, for years they were the publisher to keep your eyes on because you knew they would be the ones to beat, but now that they're doing their own thing E3 is basically not worth watching, just check individual videos for the odd thing worth a watch.

Sony's big summer event is what most gamers are looking forward to, to find out when Horizon Forbidden West, God of War Ragnarok and Sony's surprises are coming.
Nintendo are another one that realised ages ago that giving your attention to this event was pointless when you can bring all of the attention to where it deserves to be.

[bunt-custardly]

Whilst some of you might simply dislike Pachter because you disagree with what he says or see no relevance in what he says. What you need to consider is his position as an analyst for Wedbush Securities (An investment firm which has $2.4Bn under management some 6,000 odd clients). These aren't Sony/Xbox fanboys but people with $$$. If you are purely looking at the investments market then perhaps Pachter's words are completely relevant. In this instance it could be that Microsoft's & its subsidiaries value rose as a result of its E3 presence and Sony's dropped. From an investment point of view that's gaining or losing a lot of money potentially.

[bunt-custardly]

In this instance, he believes the focused exposure gained from these events far outweighs the $20,000,000 cost of attending that Sony might be saving. I suspect with more buzz for certain games/products for a company, it's value increases making for better investment for his clients.

[ShadowWolf712]

Pachter is a firm believer in the idea that so long as he keeps repeating something over and over, the law of averages dictates it will eventually be right.

[andron]

Not sure I would take this guys advice. He has a spotty track record lol....

[moriarty1889]

and now gamescon.

[quenomamen]

Hasn’t it been like 5 years since Sony dropped out of E3 ?

[John_McClane]

If Pachter doesn't know what he's talking about, and I'm not saying he does or doesn't, why are their so many triggered people losing their minds in this thread?

[lelo2play]

Have to agree with Pachter on this.

[anast]

Everything changed after they put all their weight behind influencers and celebrities. The show became a live #$%&/"-jerk of jabbering profiles. It's time to let E3 go.

[leejohnson222]

Yeah I mean why not give E3 millions when your the market leader and have the biggest most well received and purchased titles on the market. E3 is dead and should go away, this year was very obvious that its pointless

[Gamble20]

Pachter has been wrong on Sony time and time and time again.

[sourOG]

*top story time and time again

[Einhander1971]

Is this donut for real!!! E3 is practically dead now anyway 😆🤣 Sony are really struggling now as well. Next he will be telling us steam deck will sell more.

[Fuzzybacon]

Are we really still listening to a guy that hasn’t had a decent video game comment for years now

[Miacosa]

Michael Pachter seems like a nice guy overall but stuck in the PS3 / XBOX 360 mindset when it comes to marketing and promoting in the modern day games industry.

[TheColbertinator]

Pachter is back? loooool

[Rambokind]

Speaking of big losers...

[ironmonkey]

I dunno seems to be not hurting them at all. The games are out people are playing them now. E3 is the past.

[RosweeSon]

Where has he been they done it years ago and it done them no harm E3 need Sony not the other way round. If you have a good enough product people will want it there and many cheaper ways to advertise and get your games known these days.

[metalhead]

I’m 31 and I was 15 when this guy became a thing on G4. Not once has he ever been right about anything significant. He’s like a cold sore and invades these headlines every so often since this website’s first years.