The push-me-pull-you console wars, currently being waged between Sony and Microsoft, are now just as cut-throat as they have ever been. Today’s battleground is Gamescom, the annual Cologne event, where the two giants typically square off against one another. Except for this year of course.
Earlier in the week, for reasons that are presumably known to its board staff, Sony opted not to hold a press event Gamescom. As reported by Game Informer, this has now evolved to the Japanese corporation’s complete withdrawal. To put this in perspective, last year 335,000 attended the show, of whom around 6,000 were journalists. Aside from E3, this is prime territory for juicy press.
Of course, seeking an upper hand wherever it can find one, Microsoft is not to follow suit, and will be making the most of the German event. In fact Phil Spencer recently confirmed Microsoft’s intended presence at Gamescom in a Tweet:
@VernAtXboxUncut @iamironwolf Sure, we think GC is an important conference for us. One of the biggest game shows in the world.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) May 6, 2015
Currently Sony is in exceedingly dire straights by many reckonings, with it jettisoning the Vaio brand last year and soon to make even deeper cuts. The new Sony is to be about Playstation, Sony Pictures and smartphone image sensors, as such this may be something of a side effect.
Regardless, this is good news for Microsoft, which will now mostly have the event to itself.
Was this a smart move by Sony? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Further reading: Gamescom, Microsoft, Playstation, Playstation 4, Sony, Xbox, Xbox One
