This year's E3 was a different beast from the behemoth that stood astride the gaming in years gone past. No more were the multitudes of sweaty people, replaced by an altogether smaller crowd of slightly less perspiring bodies. The booth babes had also passed into history, as had the presence of every single company related to gaming. There was another, more fundamental change at this year's expo; Sony's current console was lagging far behind its competition. Languishing in third place the was deemed to be most in need of a major pick-me-up. And for a couple of days that's exactly what the beleaguered machine received. Judged by many to have been the best of the conference presentations, Sony's effort was preceded by a long-awaited announcement on a price cut, (in the at least). The show itself gave gamers a good look at the variety of games has coming out for the PS3 over the next year or so. And for once they managed to pull off the entire thing without once committing the kind of PR gaffe that has recently become synonymous with SCEA/E. However, the good times were not destined to last forever.

Spurred on by internet leaks the first announcement concerning the PS3 landed a few days before E3 began. At last, there was going to be a price cut for the expensive console. By dropping $100 off of the price, Sony no doubt hoped to spur on of their next-gen machine. So far the PS3 was languishing far behind both the and the 360 with only showing any real strength in sales. So by dropping the price to a more reasonable $499 it must have been thought that the company could begin to catch up with its rivals. Indeed, just a few days later, SCEA boss Jack Tretton was able to proudly announce that sales of the PS3 had already doubled. Yet that wasn't all; there was to be a new version of the PS3, this time weighing in with an expanded 80 Gig hard drive. This model was going to cost $599. There was much rejoicing amongst gamers, although some were already scratching their heads as to why such a small increase in storage warranted the 100 dollar price difference.

Both and preceded Sony's E3 conference. Neither really wooed the attendees nor the collected masses on the internet. Sony managed to capitalize on this with aplomb. Presenting much of the show via avatars from the highly anticipated Home, Jack Tretton presided over a display of many of the games that would eventually be making an appearance on the PS3. The main thrust of the conference was "games, games, games", a focus that brought some cheer to the Sony faithful who have so far been served up a less then full meal of gaming delight.

Plenty of attention was given to the wide variety of titles that will eventually grace the PS3, with standout titles like 4, Assassin's Creed, Airborne and, er, Bee Movie. The number of third party titles shown off was impressive with extra kudos generated from the fact many of these titles would be on the shelves by the end of this calendar year. Unreal Tournament 3 was announced to be joining Haze as an that would be exclusive to the PS3. However, this was to be for a limited time only and as many observed, no sane publisher would want to put an FPS on the 360 around the time 3 is due out - making the news less shocking. Music games have become a large niche in the market so displays of both and moistened the lips and fingertips of budding synthetic pop stars.

When it came to first party titles, however, the timescale shifted to the end of this financial year and beyond. One of the most hotly anticipated titles was introduced by its legendary creator, Hideo Kojima. A mightily impressive video reel showed off the direction Metal Gear solid is taking. The lengthy sequence revealed the return of Liquid and showed off a cinematically breathtaking fight between Raiden and Vamp. The joy felt from seeing MGS4 in was tinged with sadness as Hideo announced that this would be the last game in the series he would work on. And while the game was confirmed as being a PS3 exclusive nothing was said to counter the idea that it would migrate to other platforms in the future. Sony also proudly announced that giant NCSoft was developing titles for the PS3.

A large number of first party titles that will undoubtedly remain platform exclusives were gleefully shown off at the show, many with introductions from their developers. Heavenly Sword continues to create excitement in anyone who likes the idea of taking down masses of enemies with sword and fist while Ratchet & Clank 3 will finally give the PS3 the top notch it has been so far lacking. Drake's Fortune and killer-app 5 also made appearances, helping to remind viewers just why the PS3 has so much gaming potential. also got to strut its stuff on stage for a while, but in common with most of the games displayed at the conference little new material was shown.

Not so for 2. After the shambles that followed last year's E3 presentation of a CGI movie sequence as being in-game the lengthy intro sequence wowed attendees. Yet not as much as the footage of actual gameplay that followed. Undeniably in-game, the graphics and action managed to reignite interest in this FPS, which had suffered much derision over the last twelve months thanks to Sony's PR gaffe.

Killzone 2's reel brought Sony's E3 conference to a close. And while it was judged a success the lack of new games, (only one new title, Infamous, was revealed) and concrete dates on those that were shown took a little of the luster off the presentation. However, it was over the following few days that the wheels really came off the Sony juggernaught. To think we thought Sony had learned from the myriad of PR mistakes that had so plagued the company over the last year or so.

First up to the plate was the announcement of the new European package. Rather than copy the price drop their American customers would be getting, SCEE decided that improving the value of their current package was the way to go. The price would remain the same but purchasers would get an additional controller and their pick of two games from a choice of five titles. It seems that the reward for Europe's loyalty to the Playstation was to continue to be the market which required the most amount of money to climb aboard the PS3 train. Grumblings of discontent from European gamers was quickly overshadowed by the announcement that the price cut their American cousins were getting was time limited. As soon as the current stock of 60 Gig PS3's is exhausted, the $599 80 Gig model was going to be the only one on store shelves.

This led many to conclude the price drop was nothing more then a cynical attempt to rid stocks of the older model, which also happened to include the emulation chip, an expensive item which had been removed from the European models at launch and was also absent in the new 80 gig machines. Which, it so happens, were not being offered to European customers at all. To top this off, the way the news made its way onto the internet was through confused and sometimes combative statements from both SCEA and SCEE representatives. At times it seemed the two departments were briefing against each other which all added to the rising sense of bewilderment and the conviction that yet again Sony had managed to brutally shoot itself in the foot.

More was to come. In addition to confirming that it expected all stock of the cheaper 60 gig model to be gone from US shelves by the end of July, the head of SCEE David Reeves couldn't help himself from making the seemingly ridiculous statement that the PS3 would be in the lead by March 2008. While no doubt angering his American counterparts with the confirmation of the transitory nature of the price cut for their region, it was the delivery of his wider assessment of the PS3 that stunned interested watchers. It seemed that Mr. Reeves was jealous of the attention given to other Sony bosses around the world for making foolish comments.

According to him, the "PlayStation 3, you will see, be far and away the winner when you look at it by March '08." A quick trip to the calculator determined that for this to happen Sony would need to sell at least 180K PS3 per week till that third month in 2008 to equal the sales of the 360 and bypass those of the Wii. If, that is, both of the other consoles managed to not sell a single extra unit over that time period. And considering that even after the temporary boost in sales from the price drop made the PS3 rocket up to around 40k a week in the US it was obvious this statement was ridiculous in the supreme. But it probably angered gamers less than what was to come. While discussing the PS3's European price remaining high, he couldn't help himself from making his own entry into the now bulging annals of Sony PR gaffes, "It is, but surprisingly, people are paying that amount of money for it".

So after the momentary glow from its E3 conference, the end of the week saw Sony pretty much back where it started. Gamers were left with little idea about where the company was headed and those who had yet to buy a PS3 were still faced with the prospect of having to hand over a large wad of cash to get their hands on one. Unless they happened to live the and were quick off the mark. The public war of words between the American and European divisions, when coupled with statements of unsupportable hyperbole, do nothing to improve the tarnished image of this once all-powerful console maker.

Sony faces a battering at the checkout counters this Christmas, with the 360 having a meaty selection of games on a machine that still costs considerably less than the PS3, while the Wii continues its seemingly unstoppable march into the homes of a huge range of consumers. Fans of the brand and owners of Sony stock must be wishing there had been an embargo on Sony execs opening their mouths after the successful E3 showing. Yet it now seems that the rudderless direction and the impression that execs only open their mouths to change feet are now endemic within the company. The PS3 appears to now be in need of something miraculous to improve its outlook in the short-term. However, Sony has often been keen to point out that their plans for the PS3 are long-term. With a ten year life span anticipated for the console the next nine years ought to give the company enough time to turn things around. For sure, the market is a fast-changing one and the continued success of the (and improving fortunes of the PSP), give Sony some much needed breathing room. There is no escaping, however, the current feeling that the PS3 is a very troubled ship indeed. And that unless the heads of Sony divisions around the world can cross their T's and dot there I's before talking to the world, while simultaneously sorting out both pricing and the size of their software library that the PS3 will continue to be held back from realizing its true potential.

By Sam Gibson