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Sony isn’t afraid to give its PlayStation fans some love when it’s needed the most. It demonstrated this last year with the PlayStation Experience event, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada. It turned out to be a huge success, giving Sony the stage time it needed to show off its line-up of upcoming games, while allowing third parties and independent developers the chance to announce their own PlayStation releases.
So, to no one’s surprise, Sony will be doing it again this year. The company announced via a post on the PlayStation Blog that the PlayStation Experience will be happening again this year. This time, however, it’ll be taking place in San Francisco, on December 6 and 7. The trailer for the announcement is below.
Like last year’s event, the Experience will provide opportunities for Sony and other companies to unveil upcoming games for the PlayStation 4, especially with 2016 right around the corner. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which is expected to release in spring 2016, will get plenty of exposure at the event, and other titles are expected to be announced as well.So what makes the PlayStation Experience such an effective marketing tool Well, first of all, it allows Sony and third party companies to focus on a particular platform, without any sort of competition getting in the way, like Microsoft and Nintendo did with its presentations at E3. (That said, Sony still gained major exposure with announcements of games like Final Fantasy VII Remake and the Kickstarter-funded Shenmue III.)
Secondly, it enables Sony to connect directly with its audience, whether they’re attending in-person or watching online through Twitch. (It’s likely that the company will live stream its main presentation and several panels at the event, just as it did last year.) With panels and presentations, it can tell users why they should be excited about games like Uncharted 4 or No Man’s Sky, and provide proof with video clips and exclusive promotions that could lead to bigger sales.
Finally, December seems like the perfect time for these announcements to come around. The holiday market will be calming down around that time, with only Square Enix’s Just Cause 3 and Hitman games set to hit shelves that month (for now, anyway). With these announcements, players will have reason to be excited for the forthcoming year (if they’re not already), and Sony could also introduce holiday goodies to get people to sign up for its PlayStation Plus and cloud-streaming PlayStation Now services ideal Christmas gifts for those that don’t have subscriptions.
Through video presentations and hands-on demonstrations (most of the time with developers in tow to answer questions), the PlayStation Experience one again presents a unique opportunity for Sony to “cash in” on the PlayStation 4’s success, and continue pushing it with innovative new games and promotions. It’ll be quite the event when it takes place this December, where greatness awaits.
