May 29, 2024 Welp, fate took the bait. A new State of Play has officially been confirmed for Thursday, May 30 at 3pm PT / 6pm ET / 11pm BST!
‘Is the May PlayStation Showcase in the room with us right now?’ That’s the big question on everyone’s minds after months of industry pundits reporting and speculating that Sony’s annual event is due at the end of this month. With just days left before the calendar page flips to June, we’re no closer to any sort of announcement (barring my tempting of fate in writing this piece). But what if Sony’s decided to break tradition at a pivotal moment in a taut time for console gaming, especially for biggest rival Microsoft? What if Sony is planning to make a statement by shadow-dropping its PS5 showcase?
Currently, the battle lines have been somewhat maintained by media insiders. Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb is seemingly sticking to his sources, retaining the stance that May will still yield PlayStation’s star-studded exhibition of some of the hottest new PS5 games around. XboxEra’s Nick Baker, meanwhile, has begun to question if “someone got wires crossed” considering Sony’s two-day Business Segment Briefings are set to begin today, May 29 (US time).
As Baker says, such a mishap “would explain why no one could pin down whether it was a Showcase or State of Play, and why I never got a list of games like I normally do beforehand.” There are a couple of issues with this stance, though. Firstly, Sony’s briefings have been a known quantity since its latest investor relations schedule was published on April 3. I’d like to think that sources trusted by journalists of Grubb’s standing have been fully vetted, and queried on if the briefings are what they’re referring to or not.
Secondly, last year’s showcase took place at the same time as the briefings, and there wasn’t any muddying of lines between the two when it came to the rumor mill – evidently, it’s pretty difficult to conflate them. So what on Earth is going on? Well, here are the options on the table off the top of my head:
- PlayStation is planning to shadow-drop its showcase
- PlayStation is massively reducing the notice it’s giving for its showcase
- The showcase has been internally moved back to June
- The sources were wrong and there isn’t a showcase at all
One thing that would align Baker and Grubb is the possibility of PlayStation shadow-dropping its showcase – it’s something Baker himself has loosely highlighted as a possibility. Sony’s gaming arm has typically avoided flashy displays in recent times, though now we’re in the post-Jim Ryan era of leadership, there’s every chance that could change.
Then there’s the possibility that Sony’s simply opting against the longer wind-up time it usually gives ahead of its annual showcase, and we’ll instead hear something (most likely today, May 29) a couple of days ahead of time. This is still technically feasible, albeit unlikely (yes, I am furiously trying to tempt fate now).
Traditionally, PlayStation has steered well clear of Summer Game Fest, getting its updates in well before Keighley and Co. kick off the festivities. 2022’s mid-year State of Play did take place on June 2, though, so theoretically we’d be looking at something on Wednesday, June 5 or Thursday, June 6 at the absolute latest. Though there’s always the slim chance things have been moved, we most likely would’ve heard about it by now.
As for the final point on the showcase simply not existing, we need to remember it isn’t only Grubb who has reported it’s happening. The earliest report of this that I’m aware of was from ResetEra leaker ‘John Harker’ back in January. Between the corroboration of sources, showcase/State of Play timings historically, and everything else discussed in this article, I find it difficult to believe Sony hasn’t cooked up anything for the coming days or weeks.
Though my summation isn’t a particularly spicy one, at the very least I believe a PlayStation Showcase is still in the works – it’s just a matter of ‘when,’ not ‘if.’ If we’ve all been duped, though, then I’ll happily hold my hands up and take the L. There is still time for Sony to give us that longer lede time ahead of a pre-SGF showcase next week – this would also give space for Konami’s Silent Hill Transmission tomorrow, May 30. Alternatively, the prospect of a shadow drop out of nowhere either today or Friday is way too good to not consider – even if it does run against PlayStation’s traditional modus operandi.
For more of the latest on the best PS5 games, check out our very own predictions for this rumored PlayStation Showcase. Even if it doesn’t happen in the end, it’s good to stay abreast of what’s coming up over the months ahead. If you haven’t already then drop our Google News feed a follow – as soon as we hear anything about the showcase, you’ll be the first to know.