Earlier this month Sony announced they were canceling their attendance of Pax East, citing fears over the Corona Virus. Though it is suspected their decision had more to do with the reveal plans for the PS5 being in chaos, there nevertheless was a grain of truth to Sony’s statement.

In January a man infected with the Corona Virus broke quarantine and returned to Boston where he was attending school at the University of Massachusetts. Later he tested positive for being infected with the Corona Virus. As the infected can transmit the virus a full 24 days before showing signs of infection it raised concerns regarding how far had the virus spread through Boston.

An issue that is magnified by how dependent on Chinese Money the University has become. To the degree they began damage control insisting being fearful of contact with the Chinese students was racist. Later it was revealed to the Daily Beast despite earlier statements to the contrary the student had in fact been on campus and to the campus infirmary before being diagnosed.

Behind the scenes, the University and City have been operating under CDC guidelines in order to properly contain the outbreak. But no one is sure how far it has in fact spread among both the school or the Chinese community Mayor Walsh is attempting to prop up as residents of Boston avoid the Chinese like they have the plague, which ironically for that euphemism they actually might have.

Turning his attention toward Sony, Mayor Walsh wrote a letter attempting to shame the company into attending Pax East, as reported by VideoGamesChronile.com. A statement of which curiously Eurogamer omits parts of the letter pertaining to Bostons active efforts to fight the plague.

“These fears reinforce harmful stereotypes that generations of Asians have worked hard to dismantle.”

 

“They trigger our worst impulses: to view entire groups of people with suspicion, to close ourselves off, and to miss out on the opportunities and connections our global city provides. Boston is united in our efforts to dispel these harmful and misguided fears.”

 

“As a large, international company, you have an opportunity to set a good example. As a leader in technology, you can show that you are motivated by facts, not fear. As a leader in gaming and culture, you can show that you believe in connection, not isolation.”

 

“We believe that, based on the strict U.S. quarantine around coronavirus and a large number of enhanced on-site measures, we are able to execute a safe and successful event for our community. Locally, the Department of Health for both the State of California and the City of San Francisco support the convening of public events. See their statements here: CDPH, SFDPH

 

“We are also continuing to follow the latest CDC and WHO guidance, following in the footsteps of other large international events that are taking place successfully at the Moscone Center.”

Though it is not to fear monger one has to ask what are they fighting if the initial quarantine breaker was successfully contained before infecting anyone else? The problem the Mayor of Boston is now facing is a simple dilemma. For a long time they have taken Chinese money and are now beholden to Chinese interests. Interests that are getting them isolated from the market the longer they continue to side with.

It is unlikely this shaming tactic will have any impact on Sony’s decision. Simply put Sony has nothing to show at Pax East as a result of the Corona Virus shutting down Foxconn in China. Thus potentially crippling production of the Playstation 5 and spiking its cost. Leaving Sony’s long rumor announcement schedule in probable chaos.

Sony cannot showcase upcoming next-generation games or talk about features without first unveiling the Playstation 5. Such an unveiling would require the announcement of specs, parts, and most importantly pricing. With Sony scrambling to get the price of the upcoming console down to be competitive with Microsoft’s Xbox even system specs may have to change. Leaving nothing at this juncture set in stone for the platform.

Games sell consoles and if all the hype for the games is gone before the console is even announced then the marketing has flopped. Even if Sony wanted to attend Pax East after this shaming all probability indicates that logistically it is not possible.