Yeah, the Sony presser was pretty good.

The games looked fun, the pace was snappy, and the Sony execs on stage just seemed relaxed and comfortable (and much more humble than they have in the past, which was key).

I wish they'd done more with the PSP redesign. Built-in flash memory would have been stupendous, and I kept waiting for them to announce the PSP wireless download store so you could buy and download new games directly to your portable.

But the slimmer size and TV output are a good start.

On the PS3, the games looked really slick, and I'm intrigued by Infamous, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Folklore, and, of course, Killzone 2 looks like a real system seller.

I still think that the PS3's price is too high, though. The good news for Sony is that the PS3 is rounding into shape as a worthwhile games console. The bad news is that most people are still going to trip over the price tag.

But the games do look really cool.

MARC SAYS:: What press conference were you watching? Victor is too kind by describing the Execs as more relaxed and comfortable. My sense was that they were so beaten down by the negative press the system has gotten since launch and they couldn't even muster an ounce of excitement about any of the news they were sharing. Their presentation was just so, blah and boring.

That said, the new modifications to the PSP got me excited, especially, as Victor mentioned, the video output. Lighter and slimmer is always a plus, but there is so much more they could have done, Victor's right on the money on this one.

Things did seem to be shaping up nicely for the PS3, but besides a few exclusives most of the titles are going to be released on the 360 as well. Will games like Killzone 2 and MGS4 be enough to awake a sleeping giant? Only time will tell. It would have been nice to see Sony introduce the 80 gig unit at the reduced price point. I'm still not sure there's enough here to sway a potential buyer from 360 purchase to a PS3. But they are oh so close....

DOUG SAYS:: Dang, another new system to buy this year (PSP slim... oh, and a Halo Xbox 360)!

I'm kind of glad that it's more about the games this year and not new hardware. Sony did a great job focusing on their games during this presentation; but, why is no one excited about 'Metal Gear 4'?

VICTOR SAYS: I think the reason excitement around MGS4 is a little subdued is that the trailer was totally incomprehensible. Seriously, between the junior high debate team-quality boilerplate about the economics of war and the silly "Lord of the Dance" chest-stomping between Raiden and that other dude (sorry, don't know my MGS canon), the trailer was pretty hard to follow.

Plus, despite all the claims about being "in-game" graphics, we didn't see any actual gameplay during the trailer. Just cinematics. Show us the game!

And Marc, I really did like the Sony press conference. I think Home is going to be kind of a bore, but it looks like some interesting exclusives are coming to the PS3.

Part of the reason that I liked the press conference is that the Sony executives properly calibrated their presentation to the smaller audience at this year's event.

Go back and watch the Microsoft conference, and notice how the execs are talking too loudly, constantly waiting for applause that never comes, and completely unable to read the teleprompters without sounding like Terminator robots from the future.

All those mannerisms worked during the larger events in prior years, when hoards of fanboys were on hand to hoot and holler at every minor bit of news.

Now, though, the crowds seem to be mostly professional journalists who are taking notes, politely applauding and keeping their inner fanboys constrained. So when the executives on stage get too showy, they just look like idiots.