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.
“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.
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.
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.