If you thought Sony’s initial PS5 volley last month was everything the company had leading into next-gen later this year, think again. New reports indicate that Sony “quite smartly” held back certain first and third-party PS5 game announcements so that it could use them as a response to Microsoft’s July event. Those announcements will reportedly be part of an August State of Play that will see even more PS5 games announced and shown. Sony hasn’t yet confirmed the August event.
Eurogamer’s Tom Phillips said that July and August will be a “tasty Microsoft/Sony announcement sandwich” with the Microsoft first-party event coming on July 23rd and a PS5 event to follow next month. In a follow-up tweet, he expressed his excitement for the show and reminded fans that “PlayStation plans to fire back in a State of Play soon after…”
Phillips’ first tweet came last week on July 1st, before Microsoft officially confirmed the July 23rd date of its event today, lending credence to his knowledge about what’s coming.
Looking forward to Xbox! And a reminder PlayStation plans to fire back in a State of Play soon after… https://t.co/sG5p60JPWo
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsEG) July 6, 2020
In a response to his tweet, somebody asked what the scope of the Sony’s August State of Play would be, to which Phillips’ responded, “Sony has 1st and 3rd party stuff still to announce. Feels like it has quite smartly held some stuff back.”
Sony has 1st and 3rd party stuff still to announce. Feels like it has quite smartly held some stuff back.
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsEG) July 6, 2020
With Microsoft and Sony in a constant game of chicken leading to the holiday 2020 release of their next-gen consoles, it feels like each company is closely watching the other and safeguarding certain reveals to be used as “responses” to whatever the other announces. Sony’s big PS5 reveal in June followed the lackluster Inside Xbox event back in May, critically showing next-gen gameplay and reveals where Microsoft had failed to impress. Microsoft has expressed confidence with its July 23rd event following the PS5 presentation, though notably, neither company has budged yet on price, release date, or opening up preorders.
Previous reports have indicated that Microsoft’s July 23rd Xbox event will be a “night of mic drops.” Having a bunch of announcements waiting in the wings allows Sony to subsequently tailor its still-unconfirmed August State of Play in response to whatever Microsoft shows later this month (and perhaps more importantly, gauge the public response to the Xbox showcase). One rumor recently put Sony randomly dropping the PS5 price and release date on or before July 13th, opening preorders the same day, but with that date looming ever closer, it feels like Sony might strategically wait to officially price its next-gen console until Xbox first unveils its price point—perhaps even waiting all the way until the August State of Play as a way to put an exclamation point on the show.
Between COVID-19 canceling all in-person events this year and both Sony and Microsoft already having rather unconventional rollouts of information in regards to next-gen, we’re certainly in uncharted territory here. Both first party manufacturers hear the call of the fans for more information, but it’s their duty to remain smart about the marketing path, carefully sizing up the competition before making any rash moves. The next-gen game of chess continues.
[Via: PSU]
