It was recently revealed that Sony will not be attending the main gaming show in 2019 – E3. The company motivates this by its reluctance to disappoint fans, given the lack of really impressive material. Perhaps this is a common slyness, designed to cover up the unwillingness to spend astronomical amounts on rent, expensive stands and related expenses. Or maybe Sony really doesn’t want to hold a passing exhibition and sincerely cares … not about the players, of course, but about their financial situation and image, and then only about their clients (yes, this also happens).
In any case, the refusal to contact the audience in the exhibition format reminded me of another way of interacting with the players – local client events. A series of such events at Sony decided to hold this year in Russia, for which the name PlayStation Tour was chosen. They took place in summer and early autumn in large cities and were usually timed to coincide with other large-scale entertainment events (Red Bull Flugtag, Alfa Future People music festival), so it is likely that some of the readers attended them. One of the events was in Rostov-on-Don, it was decided to combine it with the celebration of the City Day (September 15-16).
Sony has set up two large tents on the newly built Don embankment, close to the new football stadium.
The first place I went to was, of course, a small stand where they gave gifts to PS Plus subscribers (the craving for free cheese in people is ineradicable). Trophies – Detroit artbook, Okko online cinema promo code and belt bag. You can determine the value yourself.
Then you immediately find yourself in the realm of FIFA – a number of stands behind which people play virtual football. I'm not a fan of the series, but I was interested in the customized versions of the consoles created specifically for fans of different clubs. They look great, I think football fans like it.
There are special stands with Gran Turismo Sport nearby.
By the way, all day Gran Turismo, FIFA and Mortal Kombat X tournaments were held with the opportunity to win valuable prizes – right up to the console. The question why a person who already obviously has a console has another one like this, has always occupied my mind. Unfortunately, all attempts to explain it logically have always broken down into one phenomenon: Avito.
The atmosphere in the next tent is a little different, more fanatical, I guess. They show the games for Playlink, which I already wrote about, the main visitors to the zone with bean bags are children.
There is a VR demonstration area nearby. It looks, as always, creepy – people who do something to themselves, wearing virtual reality helmets … The future has come.
There you could also try Gran Turismo Sport for PS VR (maximum immersion – steering wheel with pedals, virtual reality) and God of War 2018. By the way, what is the age rating of the new Kratos?
On the other side of the tent, Spider-Man, which had not yet been released at that time, was shown, and next to it, Detroit: Become Human.
In general, the event made a good impression – a healthy play atmosphere, a lot of people with children. The tents stood for two days, on the second day the city was flooded with pouring rain, and Sony was still full of people.
Holding such events, coupled with the refusal to participate in E3, gave me thoughts and questions that I want to discuss.
Do you think the way the company interacts with the audience, described in the material, is good? Write your thoughts in the comments. And at the same time tell us what you think about abandoning E3, it is interesting to hear your opinion.
Thank you!
Alexander Bolonkin