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PlayStation cancels planned PAX East appearance due to increasing concerns related to Coronavirus [See Staff Post]

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TheIdiot

TheIdiot

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Oct 27, 2017
2,729
This thread goes to show that the forum is only sympathetic towards situations that are very clearly defined and outlined, usually with the guidance of mods.

Crunch time? Oh those poor employees. Health safety and precaution for employees over a newly arisen global emergency? Oh hell no!
 
BrickArts295

BrickArts295

GOTY Tracking Thread Master
Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,746
Heidern said:
Could they release a Playstation Now demo that is streaming only? That should be able to counter the data miners right?
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Now there's an idea. But they wouldn't do it because it might show the game in a bad light. Obviously you and me know that the game doesn't look as good because it is being streamed but people who don't know any better would think that the game looks and runs that badly when its actually their internet connection.
 
Raxus

Raxus

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Oct 26, 2017
7,467
HououinKyouma00 said:
1000s affected, and the numbers are obviously lower due to Chinese "secrecy". Was SARS overblown as well?

Sony would need to fly people in from various parts of the world including regions very close to the epicenter. This is protecting their people. Yeah it sucks, but I would rather Sony sit it out then the virus making it's way to this part of the world.
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Even taking that into account it is overblown much like SARS was. Should we be flippant about it? No. I get the concern. On the otherhand the public freakout and racism caused by the scare is the dark side you all turn a blind eye to. It is a slap to the face of healthcare workers who work hard to prevent these diseases from spreading while ignoring other serious threats like the flu.
 
Mifec

Mifec

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Oct 25, 2017
17,733
Just so we're clear no bigwig at Sony actually cares about any employees or anyone being sent here so talking about "moral obligations" of huge corps is laughable.

That said this is a good thing for employees because people won't get infected and for Sony because they get to have positive press.
 
ItWasMeantToBe19

ItWasMeantToBe19

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
20,440
Imran said:
To be clear here: those of you that are upset about this are upset solely because you wanted to play/see people play TLOU2, right? You're just feigning otherwise?
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1. I am indifferent to The Last of Us Part 2
2. I was never planning on attending PAX
3. I hate video game conventions
4. I don't live in Boston
5. I still hate this decision a lot as it's giving into a culture of fear over something much much much less dangerous than cars and alcohol.

Sony bowing to a culture of fear also will help push the culture of fear even more.
 
ManNR

ManNR

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Feb 13, 2019
2,962
The One Who Knocks said:
The flu can be treated and cured.
What is wrong with you people.
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I support Sony's decision here & recognize the Covid-19 virus is most definitely something to cause concern. Those I know with compromised immune systems are paying close attention.

However, I also don't want to see the influenza virus downplayed. It is a very dangerous disease that most of us take for granted and it poses a huge risk for aforementioned immune-compromised people.

This comes from the CDC website for the 2019-2020 flu season.

 
Wireframe

Wireframe

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Oct 28, 2017
1,415
UK
Cess007 said:
Sony just shot themselves in the foot.

I don't know how much the rest of you know about the American Gaming Expos (I'm an expert), but trailers and demos are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in Europa where you have to care about your employees and attendees health. If you skip an Expo in America, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.

What this means is the american public, after hearing about this, is not going to want to purchase the PS5, nor will they purchase any of Sony's games. This is HUGE. You can laugh all you want, but Sony has alienated an entire market with this move.

Square, publicly apologize and release the TLOU2 Demo on the PSN or you can kiss your business goodbye.
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When will this meme die.
 
anastiel

anastiel

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Mar 14, 2019
639
PAX East will commit to enhanced cleaning and sanitization. But no refunds.

"Our badge refund policy remains the same. Badges for PAX East 2020 are non-refundable and cannot be reproduced, resold or upgraded." -- Kyle Marsden-Kish, PAX Event Director, ReedPOP

twitter.com

jason_wilson on Twitter

“PAX East will commit to enhanced cleaning and sanitization. But no refunds. "Our badge refund policy remains the same. Badges for PAX East 2020 are non-refundable and cannot be reproduced, resold or upgraded." -- Kyle Marsden-Kish, PAX Event Director, ReedPOP https://t.co/6tpADXX60Z”
twitter.com twitter.com
 
Poutine

Poutine

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
928
What a weird decision, if you are scared to send people from overseas then just have people from SIE Americas build the booths and demo the games, even if you need to do it at a smaller scale. Let's see how they handle GDC in a month, pretty sure they'll be there but who knows at this point.
 
Gay Bowser

Gay Bowser

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Oct 30, 2017
17,661
Imran said:
So they're going to take a bath on the million dollars this setup would have cost them because they're not feeling cute today?
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I love the idea that the virus is just an "excuse" to cancel, like there's really some secret other reason Sony would want to torpedo a major promotional event they have already paid for and spent many weeks preparing for.
 
ItWasMeantToBe19

ItWasMeantToBe19

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
20,440
MadeULook said:
Some of the replies in this thread are depressing. Are video games really more important than people's health?
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There is a decent chance of death at every event with a significant amount of participants who drive. This chance of death from car crash is much higher than chance of death from coronavirus.

Giving into a culture of fear and promoting the culture of fear as legitimate is dumb shit.
 

Deleted member 1003

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
10,638
I'll just add this. Sony doesn't owe anybody any further explanation as to why they are canceling. Move on. It's one event and it to minimize risk. Chill out. Some of you are acting extremely selfish. You'll get you precious videogame news at a later date.
 
Turkoop

Turkoop

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Oct 25, 2017
7,650
Cologne, GERMANY
Poutine said:
What a weird decision, if you are scared to send people from overseas then just have people from SIE Americas build the booths and demo the games, even if you need to do it at a smaller scale. Let's see how they handle GDC in a month, pretty sure they'll be there but who knows at this point.
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This cannot work. Either you allow all people to attend or you cancel your plans. You cannot make up any restrictions.
 
ItWasMeantToBe19

ItWasMeantToBe19

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Oct 26, 2017
20,440
InsaneTiger said:
I'll just add this. Sony doesn't owe anybody any further explanation as to why they are canceling. Move on. It's one event and it to minimize risk. Chill out. Some of you are acting extremely selfish. You'll get you precious videogame news at a later date.
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If they are lying about it, that's much worse as it helps contribute to the culture of fear in the United States, what the fuck is this post?
 
RingRang

RingRang

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Oct 2, 2019
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Imran said:
So they're going to take a bath on the million dollars this setup would have cost them because they're not feeling cute today?
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You don't think it's the least big strange that PAX East probably has dozens of companies attending and Sony are the only ones saying they're backing out?

There are probably hundreds of conferences happening across the U.S on any given day, and Sony are convinced they need to skip this one? The U.S has barely been touched by this virus to date, and while that could change there is no reason for avoiding public events right now.
 
NinjaScooter

NinjaScooter

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Oct 25, 2017
54,126
TheIdiot said:
This thread goes to show that the forum is only sympathetic towards situations that are very clearly defined and outlined, usually with the guidance of mods.

Crunch time? Oh those poor employees. Health safety and precaution for employees over a newly arisen global emergency? Oh hell no!
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people are sympathetic when it doesn't conflict with their own convenience.
 
LavaBadger

LavaBadger

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Nov 14, 2017
4,988
Baffling that people are so bothered by this. Sony made a call that it would be safest to not attend the event.

No one here is qualified to decided if this is the "right" or "wrong" decision. Even if they're being overly cautious, why do you care?
 
Steve

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Oct 24, 2017
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This definitely wasn't a decision made lightly. As Imran said, tons of cash is being lost on this for them. Sony's doing the right thing to protect their staff and the contractors they work with. How are people even mad at this decision?
 
SonicFighterV

SonicFighterV

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May 13, 2019
350
They have to travel, like from Japan and you know around the world. Be on planes and at multiple airports around the globe. How is it that hard to understand for people here ? I don't think they would have cared too much about it if everyone is from in and around the USA.
 
Imran

Imran

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Oct 24, 2017
6,571
RingRang said:
You don't think it's the least big strange that PAX East probably has dozens of companies attending and Sony are the only ones saying they're backing out?

There are probably hundreds of conferences happening across the U.S on any given day, and Sony are convinced they need to skip this one? The U.S has barely been touched by this virus to date, and while that could change there is no reason for avoiding public events right now.
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Sony is particularly cautious about this one and has expressed concerns to other organizations and events, like GDC, about Coronavirus. They don't want any of their people to be sick at what are essentially international events. No dam has broken yet, they do not want to be a part of a dam breaking.
 
Dinjooh

Dinjooh

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Oct 25, 2017
2,830
ItWasMeantToBe19 said:
There is a decent chance of death at every event with a significant amount of participants who drive. This chance of death from car crash is much higher than chance of death from coronavirus.

Giving into a culture of fear and promoting the culture of fear as legitimate is dumb shit.
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How is car crash statistics relevant?

You're probably also more likely to choke on food at the convention, but we need food, we have a great use for cars, and people enjoy alcohol. None of which can be said about a virus. More than that, people have a say whether they want to take the risk with a car, or with alcohol - they have no such say with a virus.
 
anastiel

anastiel

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Mar 14, 2019
639
playstation could announce a new state of play to show the general public how the games are doing and the possible introduction of playstation 5
 
HououinKyouma00

HououinKyouma00

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Oct 27, 2017
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Raxus said:
Even taking that into account it is overblown much like SARS was. Should we be flippant about it? No. I get the concern. On the otherhand the public freakout and racism caused by the scare is the dark side you all turn a blind eye to. It is a slap to the face of healthcare workers who work hard to prevent these diseases from spreading while ignoring other serious threats like the flu.
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The racism towards Asians is a different thing altogether from what I was talking about. There is no excuse for that, however companies taking this seriously can never be considered a bad thing.
 

Deleted member 887

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Oct 25, 2017
16,738
redshoepaul said:
Makes them look insanely weak.
The flu is way more of a concern and has a way higher chance of being there, but still Sony shows up every other PAX East during flu season..
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horrible take.

im honestly shocked by some of the replies in this thread. And only magnifies that some of y'all only care about the wellbeing of devs until you're Inconvenienced.
 
RingRang

RingRang

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Oct 2, 2019
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Imran said:
Sony is particularly cautious about this one and has expressed concerns to other organizations and events, like GDC, about Coronavirus. They don't want any of their people to be sick at what are essentially international events. No dam has broken yet, they do not want to be a part of a dam breaking.
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If we're to take Sony's logic to the logical conclusion we should all just be staying home for now and going nowhere in the public. Don't want to take any risks!
 
Jon Carter

Jon Carter

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Oct 27, 2017
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ItWasMeantToBe19 said:
5. I still hate this decision a lot as it's giving into a culture of fear over something much much much less dangerous than cars and alcohol.

Sony bowing to a culture of fear also will help push the culture of fear even more.
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ItWasMeantToBe19 said:
I am not remotely inconvenienced about whether or not Sony is at PAX East, I am very inconvenienced by racism towards my wife due to the level of hype of the Coronavirus. What is this garbage?
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Yeah, that's what bothers me too, and the same thing is happening to my wife.
 
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