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Niko Partners senior games industry analyst Daniel Ahmad has suggested that the cancellation of E3 2020 has forced both Microsoft and Sony to reschedule their showcases for next-gen consoles the Xbox Series X and PS5 respectively.
In a Twitter thread posted yesterday, Ahmad stated that the "first proper next gen console/games showcase" is much earlier than the original week of E3 2020, which was scheduled to take place from June 9 - 11 later this year, alongside other announcements from game publishers which were also planned to take place during the annual games expo over the summer.
With E3 cancelled, a lot of the planned reveals / announcements have been moved out of that single week. Some are now much earlier, others much later. Some still during E3 week ofc.The first proper next gen console/games showcase is much earlier too.April 19, 2020
That said, Ahmad also claimed that other announcements formerly tied to E3 will instead be revealed "much later" than June, while others will still place during "E3 week" itself, presumably over separate digital events or through the publisher's own marketing showcase.
There's also the ongoing situation around COVID-19, the reason for E3 2020's cancellation, which Ahmad clarifies could still "change plans right at the last minute". That means we can't guarantee anything for now, but it certainly sounds like we could be seeing more from the PS5 or Xbox Series X within the next few weeks.
A follow up report from Video Games Chronicle suggests that Sony was planning to unveil the PS5 with a physical event in May, next month. That's obviously not happening anymore, but it remains unclear whether the company still intends to hold a digital alternative on the same timeline instead.
Sony recently unveiled its PS5 controller, the DualSense, in a surprise post earlier this month, while recent reports suggest PlayStation's console is still on track for a Holiday 2020 launch, albeit in a limited capacity, and at a higher price.
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