Reaction: The PS5 Discourse Around State of Plays Is Becoming Draining 1
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We’re all for fair criticism, but the discourse around Sony’s State of Play livestreams is slowly beginning to grate.

Before we get accused of being hypocrites, we’ll readily accept we’ve fed the narrative at times. We’ve opined the manufacturer’s overall lack of fan engagement, and the inconsistency between shows.

Truthfully, we think the Japanese giant’s done a pretty poor job at establishing a livestream format which serves its intended purpose: enthuse PS5 fans.

But we’ve also seen enough now to understand the company’s approach to its events, and how it wants to build hype for its games.

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The clue is in the name really: State of Play isn’t intended to be some all-encompassing blowout like PlayStation events of the past. Instead, it’s, quite literally, the state of play – the “current situation in an ongoing process”, to quote Google’s dictionary definition of the phrase.

Reaction: The PS5 Discourse Around State of Plays Is Becoming Draining 2

For years now there’s been a disconnect between what fans want and what Sony’s willing to deliver, and, unfortunately, it’s not operating in the way many of you want it to. With the demise of E3 and the lack of PS Showcases, the firm’s much more content giving you a taste than blowing its load.

That was evident during this week’s livestream: the firm delivered an early look at Housemarque’s new title, Saros, but it kept the rest of its lineup in its pocket. That doesn’t mean Ghost of Yotei and Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet don’t exist, it just means they’re in different stages of their promotional cycle.

This is perhaps best evidenced by Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, a title which Sony pitched as an important first-party release to shareholders this week. Age ratings suggest its release is imminent and Hideo Kojima has been publicly cutting trailers on social media, but its big unveiling is coming at SXSW in three weeks.

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Would the State of Play been better with the anticipated sequel included? Yes, but as alluded to above, it’s on a different timeline. The title will get more exposure at SXSW, and it means as PlayStation fans, the news never really dries.

It’s also clear Sony doesn’t want to show games too early anymore. Yes, there are exceptions like Marvel’s Wolverine, but this time last year we didn’t even know the undisputed Game of the Year Astro Bot existed. We could have made assumptions based on Team ASOBI’s activity, of course, but there was a matter of months between the acclaimed platformer’s official announcement and its launch.

Thus, if you’re making assumptions about PS5’s entire 2025 based on a single presentation in February, you’re doing it wrong. We understand there’s concern following the cancellation of Bend Studio and Bluepoint’s projects, but all this talk of first-party software droughts is premature; PS Studios just dominated the DICE Awards for its output in 2024.

Reaction: The PS5 Discourse Around State of Plays Is Becoming Draining 4

None of this is intended to dispel criticism entirely, of course – we’d generally agree that a more forthcoming and engaging PlayStation, like the one throughout the PS4 era, would be nice. But the company has simply changed tack, and as fans we probably need to accept that we too need to adapt.

Because frankly it’s tedious seeing every single State of Play followed by the same dreary discourse; E3 2016 was nearly a decade ago, and no matter how passionately you feel about that format, Sony seemingly has no interest in returning to it.

If you genuinely don’t like any of the content on display, then we’re sorry you feel that way. But the Japanese giant’s latest livestream was packed to bursting with more than 30 different titles – surely you could find at least one or two things that you liked.

Perhaps it’s time to focus on what was there, rather than what wasn’t.

Do we need to accept that Sony’s approach to presenting games is changing? Is the discourse surrounding State of Play becoming tiresome? How do you think PlayStation could improve their livestreams moving forward? Open your mind in the comments section below.

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