Having watched the stage shows, listened to the feedback, and read the live blogs, I though it was time to pitch in with my two pence. As a thirty-something father of two (and one on the way) I was probably looking for something different from both the hardcore gamers and mainstream press. I was really only going to get excited about things I could afford, and justify taking up space in our family's living room.

The event felt like the most outwardly focused. They were obviously having a few strings pulled by their marketing division. Obviously nervous of the massive audience reach that these events enjoy, they seemed unable to provide any sort of genuine dialog. You know the feeling you get when someone is pitching to you on your door step; that's essentially what Microsoft communicated to me. The 'medium is the message' is a mantra they could do with understanding, regardless of how powerful the rhetoric of widening and embracing new audiences, there has to be substance behind that.

They did put up an impressive array of games coming this season, although they seemed to balk at showing off their key properties such as 3. This was reduced to a couple of videos, when its rich player experience would have been better served with a simple on stage play demonstration. The chopping and changing of the trailer meant you never got a feel for the single player campaign, which is apparently pretty outstanding.

The event had much more of a kick to it. They had obviously put the hours in beforehand, and it showed. The sheer number of games and surprise videos, such as 4, Gran Tourismo Prologue and Killzone, gave their pitch a real sense of energy. This felt like a company in the ascendancy once again. There was an interesting contrast between this and the previous E3. Last year they had shown a 2 preview that controversially turned out to be entirely CGI, this year they made good with a playable Killzone 2 that almost looked as good as last year's movie. This is hopefully a sign that Sony is slowly turning the long corner from hype to delivery.

All this certainly got my high definition game juices going, although the lack of clear direction about pricing in means I'm still a little reticent about 'jumping in', as the vernacular goes. Sony are still delivering to the hardcore gamer, as the price prohibits it being a viable addition to our sitting room at least. Many of their products, such as LittleBigPlanet, could easily be for the gamer but unfortunately the system lacks the family-friendly price tag.

Then came Nintendo. What they lacked in choreography they made up for with spirit. It was refreshing to see a console maker giving time to its community and grass roots supporters. A plethora of blogs, websites, magazines and You-Tube spoof clips nicely punctuated proceedings. This served as a visual statement about what Nintendo is all about.

I was further impressed with their decision to give some everyday families a try on Galaxy before the press had their hands on it. Although this seems to have been an unpopular decision for some, it again reflects their values of being focused on the broader 'mainstream' market first and foremost. They seem to be making what might have been an uncomfortable shift with a good degree of confidence.

This was all capped off with their announcement of Fit, the new fitness game and pressure sensitive dance mat-come-scales accessory. Journo's the world over are scratching their heads about what to call it, I'm going with Fit-pad for now. Not only does this provide another outing for my Mii but is something the whole family can enjoy. It has its own justification-power built in by design. Much as nag-power snagged many a sale for toy manufacturers past and present, justification-power will enable many fathers to make a game purchase easily justifiable with their spouse. Just what the doctor ordered. Thank you Nintendo.

By Paul Govan