Boston Mayor Urges Sony to Attend PAX East After It Drops Out Due to Coronavirus Fears

Boston mayor Marty Walsh is not happy with Sony’s decision to skip PAX East because of coronavirus concerns. On Friday, he sent a letter to Sony CEO Kenihiro Yoshira, formally asking him to reconsider. Sony had announced its decision to drop out of the show on Wednesday.

“The risk of contracting coronavirus in Boston and Massachusetts remains extremely low,” Walsh wrote, saying that coronavirus fears are fueled by confusion and lack of information.

“These fears reinforce harmful stereotypes that generations of Asians have worked hard to dismantle,” reads Walsh’s letter. “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.”

PAX East is a game showcase scheduled to take place from February 27 to March 1 in Boston, Massachusetts. Sony had quite big plans for the event: ordinary visitors would have been able to play the demo version of The Last of Us Part II.

WCVB reports only one confirmed Coronavirus COVID-19 infection on Boston property. The organizers of PAX East have already promised that the exhibition will strengthen sanitary measures. Everything should be done in order to let people play The Last of Us: Part II!