There is a lot to be said for presentation. Microsoft blew it with their canned acting and singular focus. Sony, despite aggressive announcements and variety, just felt flat. The presentation seemed to drag, with misguided demos of EA games we already knew about, purely to push some exclusive content in some PS3 exclusive limited editions.
Oh, and Kevin Butler rocked.
They did about everything right. They re-affirmed their commitment to the PSP with a funny new ad campaign, they brought back one of their greatest franchises (Twisted Metal), and gave us sequels we were looking for, like Infamous 2 and Killzone 3.
The constant stream of montages, even going so far as to include games that were already on store shelves, extended the show well past its life span. The extensive 3-D chat was no fun either. Jack Tretton is simply not chipper on stage, again appearing nervous and monotone. He does not generate excitement.
Kevin Butler on the other hand, well, he does.
It may sound stupid since it has nothing to do with any new games or online service, but Kevin Butler was entertaining and wonderfully truthful. If he introduced Move and the games to go with it, we would have followed. Instead, we get one of the most generic fantasy titles ever, called Sorcery.
Sony is making some immense moves, going after those exclusives, adding content to their online service (via a $50 a year subscription) and providing us with games beyond the gimmicky motion controller. It’s a shame they can’t present that in a way that is entertaining…
… unless it was Kevin Butler.
