I think one reason for the lack of depth this week is the nature of the press demos. Journalists were obliged to write about what they experienced. There was less time to delve into philosophies, which is what many of us are interested in. We're more interested in whether the game is fun, but reading someone's take on that is less convincing. I think we all realize that the proof will be in the playing.

But it's up to Bungie / the marketing team to have the press demos not be insubstantial and result in coverage that shows why the game is so special.
There's still plenty of time for that, but this felt like it was going to be a bit more than it ended up being, so similar to the E3 demo [assuming I understand correctly that the trailer this week focused on that piece of content].

I don't disagree, but when Ms. Perky is rifling through a stack of note cards with questions like "Will there be lotsa GUNZ?" it's a bit more challenging.

I don't know if I agree on your last few sentences either, there are some journalists who I do consider a good barometer of how I'd respond if I had a similar play time / scenario.

Me, too. (I miss Adam Sessler already.) I was trying to acknowledge that some here don't trust the press. (My perspective is that there are problems in the gaming press, e.g., fawning, fear of losing access, etc., but those problems aren't limited to gaming journalists. There are non-hacks, and with experience you can even read between the lines of the hackery.)

-- On a side note I wonder why Giant Bomb weren't invited / didn't go. Perhaps they felt burned by the underwhelming amount of content from their last trip up to Seattle for it, when it was largely a few theatre presentations (with little gameplay) and chats with a few developers. --

Yeah, good question. I think that first press jaunt was probably premature and forced by other factors. I think it's harder to make a big splash with a new IP than it used it be. I used to consider Bungie among the best at the tease, but I don't envy them, especially with a game like this, which seems to not fit into categories perfectly. And how do you reveal a game before launch when the biggest strength of the game is what and how things are revealed in game?

I'd buy anything with Bungie's name on it with very little information, but that's based on my experience with them. I don't have to see anything else to be sold. I care about these reveals because I know this stuff matters for the business, and most people aren't like me. I'd care even more if there wasn't going to be a beta, which I'm hoping makes everyone feel less anxious.

-- On a side note I wonder why Giant Bomb weren't invited / didn't go. Perhaps they felt burned by the underwhelming amount of content from their last trip up to Seattle for it, when it was largely a few theatre presentations (with little gameplay) and chats with a few developers. --

Yeah, I was hoping to hear their take on the latest trailer in this week's Bombcast. Weird that they didn't even mention it, but I guess if nobody from GB got hands-on time at the event there was plenty of other gaming news to overshadow the trailer.