Final Stage

A somewhat flat Gamescom 2019 reflects a console generation that has run its course

Just two months ago, our E3 report sought to discover what Sony’s absence from the biggest videogame show on the planet told us about the balance of power in the industry as we looked towards the next generation of consoles. Two months later, we realise our error. These days conventions are not defined by the absence, or presence, of major platform holders or publishers. No, it is simply a matter of whether or not they have Geoff Keighley.

This year, for the first time, Gamescom had him – and gave him headline billing with the inaugural Gamescom: Opening Night Live broadcast – and it is probably just as well. Elsewhere this was a case of recent history broadly repeating. While Sony did deign to show up to the Cologne event after spending E3 week with its collective trotters up, this was a half-arsed sort of return that does little to dispel the worrying notion that Sony is running down the generation on a combination of fumes and hubris. Yes, Kojima brought down the curtain on Opening Night Live with an extended look at Death Stranding, but you felt that was driven more by Keighley than the platform holder. There was a booth, sure, but little in the way of news. Kojima aside, the biggest announcement – if you could call it that – was also on Keighley’s stage. The likeable young developer Jack Attridge revealed that his studio Flavourworks’ debut release, the live-action game Erica, was immediately launching on the PlayStation Store. Erica was announced at Paris Games Week in 2017 and has received almost zero promotional support since. Was Sony back? Yes. Are we still worried? You bet.