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.
“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!
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.
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.
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
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.
"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".
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.
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.
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.
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.
@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
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
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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?
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🤷♂️
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.
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.
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".
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.
@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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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🤦♂️
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
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?
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.
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!
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....
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
"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.
@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.
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.
“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!
This guy is as irrelevant as e3 itself
This years E3 was one of the worst ever, not a big mistake at all, demand and sales prove that.
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.
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🤷♂️