Within the games industry, most companies have opted to not have public, or “in-person” promotions or events in lieu of digital events comprised of video presentations. Nintendo led the charge with this practice and SIE followed soon after. SIE previously would hold annual PlayStation-exclusive in-person promotional events called PlayStation Experience (PSX) and would also be an attendee company to the largest annual (at the time) electronics entertainment promotional event, called the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3. SIE announced in 2018 that it would be canceling its PSX 2018 event, stating that they did not have enough upcoming content to justify holding a public event of that scale (Prell, 2018).

Although disappointing to fans and industry veterans, alike, most were understanding. What left the community really scratching their heads, however, was the announcement from SIE that it would not be attending E3 the following year, stating that it was looking for “inventive opportunities” to connect with its own community (Wright, 2021).  This was unprecedented. SIE had always attended E3 ever since the PlayStation was announced in the early 1990s. The community wondered with decreasing confidence what was to come next. The following March, SIE demonstrated their change in strategy to connect with its community, by way of a video program called State of Play. As stated on their website, “State of Play is our video program, showcasing all the latest updates, announcements, and trailers from the world of PlayStation” (PlayStation, n.d.).

SIE understood that its community and the wider gaming community had the most engagement on social media websites, especially video-based platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. It could cut the high costs of running a public event and instead use a fraction of the funds to produce a program that is not limited in frequency per year (they can release as many videos as they want, whenever they want, without being tied to a limited time-use venue), and coordinate a program’s release with a social media marketing campaign to build excitement and foment high engagement before, during, and after the program, on all social media platforms SIE may be on. That being said, it is recommended that SIE announce on social media platforms that it is hosting a special Brazilian State of Play program to announce and celebrate its entry into the Brazilian market.

Example of a recent State of Play program.