Sony made the right call and postponed the PlayStation 5 reveal
You'll have to wait a bit longer for a first glimpse of the PlayStation 5. And you know what? That's totally fine.
Sony moved to postpone the planned June 4 reveal event on Monday, just a few days ahead of what would've likely been a blockbuster slate of hardware and game reveals. The reason, of course, is the ongoing protests following the death of George Floyd on May 25 after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. (Chauvin was later charged with third-degree murder.)
Sony announced the change in a tweeted statement.
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"While we understand gamers worldwide are excited to see PS5 games, we do not feel that right now is a time for celebration and for now, we want to stand back and allow more important voices to be heard," the statement reads.
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The postponement came several hours after Sony weighed in on the ongoing protests against police brutality and racial injustice with a separate statement. It's one of many brand-issued statements that have voiced support for equality in a general sense without pledging tangible action.
That's something we'd honestly like to see a little less of moving forward.
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But postponing the PS5 reveal no doubt carries a tangible cost for Sony, which now has to pin down a new date for the reveal in the midst of a summer crowded with scheduled streams to make up for the spate of trade show cancellations. Because yes, the coronavirus pandemic is still out there and still complicating the hell out of anything that's meant to draw a large crowd.
The harder step for platform gatekeepers like Sony and Microsoft, which already revealed its Xbox Series X, is rooting out the hate-spewing voices in their online communities. That's been a forever problem in online gaming, and one the industry will hopefully be taking a closer look at throughout this period of deep unrest.
Looking at some of the replies to Sony's postponement tweet, we've still got a ways to go on that count. But Sony made the right choice here, and you can bet we'll see the PS5 make its first appearance sooner rather than later.
Topics Gaming
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
