Las Vegas, September 30 — Sony Corporation will not participate in the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2027, ending a decades-long tradition of the Japanese technology giant exhibiting at the Las Vegas trade event. The company confirmed its absence in a statement to Bloomberg News, explaining it continuously evaluates its approach to events and communications based on the needs and priorities of its diverse business.
Sony emphasized it is placing greater emphasis on entertainment, including games, anime, films, and music, as well as its intellectual property and technology that supports creators.
Strategic shift toward content and IP
This decision reflects a broader strategic move away from consumer device exhibitions, following Sony’s absence from having its own booth at CES 2026. Although Sony did not host a booth that year, a prototype of the Afeela electric vehicle — developed through its joint venture Sony Honda Mobility — was displayed on the show floor. A few months after CES 2026, Sony and Honda announced they had scrapped the Afeela EV project and would review the direction of their joint venture.
Sony has also stepped back from other consumer technology categories, notably transferring control of its Bravia television brand to TCL Corporation in a licensing agreement. Despite reducing its presence in traditional consumer electronics showcases, Sony continues to manufacture gaming hardware through its PlayStation division, which has expanded into peripherals such as monitors, headphones, and speakers.
Industry observers note that if Sony announces the PlayStation 6 in the future, it will not do so at CES.
History of Sony’s CES participation
Nikkei Asian Review was the first to report Sony’s planned exit from CES, citing internal sources. The company’s participation in CES had been a longstanding tradition, with its press conferences often drawing significant attention for unveiling new consumer electronics innovations. The 2027 CES is scheduled to take place in January 2027, though the exact dates have not yet been officially announced by the Consumer Technology Association, which organizes the event.
Sony’s decision underscores its evolving corporate focus toward content and IP-driven entertainment rather than hardware-centric trade show appearances. The Consumer Technology Association typically holds CES in the first Tuesday of January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Paradise, Nevada, United States, where the event hosts presentations of new products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry.
CES began as a spin-off of the Chicago Music Show, with the first edition held in June 1967 in New York City. That inaugural event attracted 17,500 attendees and featured over 100 exhibitors, including displays of pocket radios and TVs with integrated circuits.
From 1978 to 1994, CES was held twice each year — once in January in Las Vegas as the Winter Consumer Electronics Show and once in June in Chicago as the Summer Consumer Electronics Show — before shifting to an annual January-only format in Las Vegas starting in 1998.
