Kevin Butler's Practically Saved Playstation's Marketing Image.

Launching a system for $600 and promoting it with crying babies didn't exactly help. But SCEA veteran Peter Dille reckons we're long past that, stating that "whole positioning was a bit intimidating to people".

Dille told IGN that "research also showed that Sony could be perceived as arrogant". But since the Playstation 3's relaunch, new marketing from "fake" executive Kevin Butler has renewed faith in the Playstation brand. And the "arrogance" perception is starting to dwindle as Sony poke fun at themselves, and their competitors.

"The arrogance I think has gone away," Dille said at the MI6 marketing conference. "We kind of gotten back to our mojo with the sense of humor that people came to know and love with early PlayStation advertising."

We're just waiting for SCEE to bring Kevin Butler over the pond. Don't get us wrong - the "Start" commercials here in Europe are much better than past attempts. But we think Kevin Butler would resonate just as well in Europe (especially the UK) as he does in the USA.