Sony Interactive Entertainment has added another big event to its list of gaming conventions it will not attend this year. The most recent announcement concerns Brazil Game Show, which is slated to run from October 8th to October 12th. As of writing, the company has yet to explain the exact reason for such a decision. However, the coronavirus pandemic could serve as one motivating factor, following in the shoes of Microsoft, who announced that its events for the rest of the year would be all-digital.

PlayStation Brazil shared the news in a brief Twitter post yesterday. Google’s loose Portuguese to English translation reads as follows: “After a long evaluation, Sony Interactive Entertainment decided not to participate in the Brazil Game Show in 2020. We can’t wait to be able to interact with our fans in Brazil and announce exciting activities until the end of the year.”

As one of the most important gaming events in South America, Sony’s decision to sit out on this year’s Brazil Game Show seems pretty major. After all, if Sony does indeed launch the PS5 this holiday season, the October event would most certainly take place weeks ahead of the console’s worldwide release. Therefore, this particular convention would undoubtedly be considered a perfect way to show off PS5 to consumers in some capacity. If this is coronavirus-related, perhaps it means Sony doesn’t think even October will be the right time to attend massive gatherings.

The outbreak has certainly affected the company in other ways, especially where its marketing strategy for the new console is concerned. According to a recent report, Sony planned to host a press event to show off the hardware. With such plans now out of the question, there remains no official word on when the public will see the PS5 in action for the first time or if consumers will even get a chance to go hands-on before the system launches. Interestingly, another report alleges that a showcase of some kind may surface sooner rather than later.

[Source: PlayStation Brazil on Twitter via VG247]