Kevin Butler, VP Apologies

Every year, Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony present their upcoming plans in a lavish press event, and the immediate response among gaming journalists is to declare who won. In that spirit we’re offering seven key strategies to each of the big three companies to help them “win” E3 2011.

Today, following our tips for Nintendo and Microsoft, we look at Sony. Alas, poor Sony. Jack Tretton could strangle a puppy on stage during Sony’s E3 press conference, and it probably wouldn’t hurt Sony’s public perception right now. The PSN security breach has been nothing short of catastrophic for Sony, impacting everyone from developers to retailers to consumers. All of that threatens to overshadow an impressive lineup of first party titles and exclusives and the launch details of the intriguing NGP. Can Sony but the distrust and negativity behind them and focus the eyes of the gaming world on the future, rather than the present? Here are our suggestions:

1) First, foremost, and perhaps the only thing that matters, Sony has to be honest and contrite about the PSN security breach. No bravado, no corporate BS. Be straightforward and accept your lumps. There’s no getting around the fact that Sony’s collected user data was stolen by unknown hackers, and even now, weeks later, people still aren’t sure if their information has been bought and sold on the data black market. Address the issue and then start moving on. Why not knock our socks off with some sort of Kevin Butler mea culpa. Perhaps set to music. He was easily the highlight of last year’s presentation, and wouldn’t it be meta to have a fake executive giving a real apology?

2) Have the PSN actually be up and fully functional by E3. That should seem like an easy one, but if you put a huge mass of the gaming media in one room while your online system is still broken, you’ve completely lost control of the narrative.

3) Sony will want to push the NGP ahead of it’s Fall 2011 launch, but its likely a safe bet it will be overshadowed by the PSN issues.  Accept that, and don’t try to overpush the NGP on an audience that’s likely going to be more concerned with security issues. Let us learn to love it, rather than feel like you are trying to force it on us. That said, whatever you have better be good, because there’s a healthy amount of skepticism over whether Sony can get this handheld to work in North America after never really having a “breakthrough” moment with the original PSP.

4) Outline an ongoing plan to win back PSN users, to earn their trust, and to showcase the value of PSN as a service. This shouldn’t be seen as a one off, it should be a year long campaign of small, but worthwhile bonuses that reinforce the message that the PSN service is back, it’s secure, and its better than ever. It would also be a good opportunity to highlight the developers who have succeeded on the PSN and are hopefully still supporting the service.

5) Remind everyone about the excellent exclusives that Sony will have in the next year: inFAMOUS 2, Resistance 3, Twisted Metal, Uncharted 3, Ratchet and Clank. And doesn’t it feel like time for a new Jak and Daxter? Also, maybe lay off the 3D stuff a bit? We know you are doing it to try and sell Sony brand 3D televisions, but please stop hyping something that maybe 5% of your audience really cares about. Is 5% too high? Lets say 3%. No, 3D%. That’s a good number.

6) PlayStation Move is a good piece of hardware, but it needs to be nurtured along. More games that run the gamut of core to casual should be a key priority, particularly if those core games are normal AAA titles. Why not tease a God of War with Move controls?

7) Much like we advised Microsoft, resist the urge to even hint at a PlayStation 4. There will be a lot of temptation to try and top Project Cafe, but unveiling a new console at this point could come across as trying to change gears too quickly. Re-establish your footing with the PS3, push the NGP, build up new PSN functionality and security, and worry about a PS4 at another time. Maybe PAX Prime, where you can reach out directly to the fandom?