While most are talking about the big upcoming Microsoft event in which the newest Xbox will make its big appearance, Sony isn't going to let Microsoft have the news cycles all to itself. To that end, Sony released a teaser video showing off just a few short glimpses of the new hardware, and Sony has managed to raise a few interesting questions in the process.

The Sony video is a meager 39-second presentation, but in the process shows a few interesting images, like the new DualShock 4 controller and the PlayStation Eye camera system. The system itself, meanwhile, was briefly glimpsed in a series of blurred images, extreme close-ups and assorted jump cuts, assuring that very little of the device would actually be seen.

Sony first got a chance to show off its new hardware back in February, with an official unveiling that didn't actually show off the hardware. Some are calling this newest teaser--that technically shows off the hardware without actually showing it off--a jab at Microsoft, which may well be planning to do something similar. Some reports put Microsoft as planning two events, not one, and tomorrow's event may be rather slim on actual hardware appearances.

Sony's video, meanwhile, is a bit on the convoluted side. Sony needs PlayStation 4 to work, and work extremely well, to erase some of the losses that the company has seen of late. It's a huge problem for Sony, and without a successful game console--along with the rest of its product base--there will be serious repercussions for the company as a whole. So to do all this fits-and-starts revealing, all this teasing of the user base, just doesn't make a lot of sense. Sure, the company's likely trying to build demand by getting everybody interested as early as possible and keeping the base interested, but to do it with a series of jump cuts and “Oooh! What was that?” filmmaking just doesn't seem like the way to go about it. Of course, Sony's regular releasing of new content--even content without a whole lot to it in the way of substance--may well do the job of keeping Sony front-of-mind for users right up until the launch date. It may even serve to steal some of Microsoft's thunder ahead of tomorrow's big release.

Still, only time will truly tell just how well Sony's strategy will pay off. With E3 only a little over three weeks away, and the releases of the various systems to follow in rapid fashion ahead of the holiday shopping season, both Sony's and Microsoft's new console releases will be going head-to-head fairly soon. Then the market will ultimately decide just how effective Sony's strategy was.