The mayor of Boston has reached out to Sony, asking it to reverse its decision to stay away from PAX East this year, stating that the decision should have been motivated by “facts, not fear”.
PlayStation confirmed earlier this week that it would no longer attend PAX East (operated by Eurogamer’s US parent company Reedpop) due to “increasing concerns” surrounding coronavirus.
While it insists it made “the best option as the situation related to the virus and global travel restrictions are changing daily”, the mayor of Boston – the US city that hosts PAX East – sent a letter to Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida intimating the decision to pull out served to reinforce “harmful stereotypes” about Chinese citizens, and were fuelled by “confusion and lack of information”.
“These fears reinforce harmful stereotypes that generations of Asians have worked hard to dismantle,” Walsh said in the letter (thanks WCVB, via VGC). “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.