Although Sony didn't have a PlayStation conference at E3 2019, the company still had a strong presence at the event. Many in the industry were surprised when Sony initially announced that it would not hold a PlayStation conference at E3, but, at the time, the move seemed to make a lot of sense.
Over the past decade, Sony's business model has changed significantly by focusing on quality over quantity. Sony's E3 press conferences generally concentrate on games, but, because of this new philosophy, the company didn't have any new titles to show off in 2019. With its focus also now turned to its next-generation console, the PlayStation 5, a lack of new games is one of the main reasons why Sony decided to skip E3.
In spite of its absence, though, Sony's presence was still felt at the event, mostly in the form of games that will eventually land on the PlayStation, although some of the games present at E3 were demoed on the PS4 Pro, too. Take Final Fantasy 7 Remake, for example, which is an exclusive on the PlayStation 4. This is a game that fans have wanted since the early 2000s when discussion of a remake first began. Twenty years later, E3 2019 finally gave fans a better look at the Final Fantasy VII remake, as well as a release date of March 3, 2020.
Then there's Shenmue 3, a title that is exclusive to the PS4 as a console platform (although it will also release on PC). Another highly-anticipated title, Shenmue 3, released a gameplay trailer at E3, along with a release date of November 19, 2019. These are two games that many fans weren't sure would ever happen, but E3 proved that they are real and coming soon to PS4.
Sony's presence at E3 wasn't just with PlayStation-exclusive games, though. Many of the event's biggest and most talked about titles will also get released on the PlayStation 4. This includes Cyberpunk 2077, which became the darling of social media after Keanu Reeves took to the stage at Microsoft's press conference and announced that he was a character in the game. Although that announcement belonged to Microsoft, Cyberpunk 2077 will also land on the PS4. There were other games present at E3, too, that will land on the PS4, including Watch Dogs Legion, Dying Light 2, The Outer Worlds and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Although Sony wasn't physically present at E3 2019, the company was there in spirit. Third-party developers, such as Square Enix, were showing off games exclusive to the PS4, basically offering Sony free advertising. But more free advertising came in the form of the demos: many of those were played on the PS4 Pro, showing developers' preference for Sony's console over its competitors. With these factors combined, Sony had a strong presence at E3 without having to actually attend the event.