To be honest, it doesn't surprise me. It may be their second generation, but Sony are still handheld lightweights. Nintendo has worked for over 20 years in the handheld gaming market. And it's always been a lot more important to their business strategy than Sony's handhelds have been so far. I think how they glossed over them at E3 really shows how unfamiliar with handhelds Sony still is. They don't quite grasp how important a strong handheld showing is for the consumer base.
I mean, hell... they spend a half hour or more on an accessory for the PS3, but barely mention the Vita at all in their conference, despite having 25 new games for it on the show floor. At a time when it really needs the exposure and a reason for people to buy one.
To contrast, Nintendo has what basically amounts to a whole second conference dedicated just to new 3DS software. And they arranged it to be the very last impression people will have of this year's E3.
As much as I rag on them for ripping off Nintendo, this is one time where Sony really should follow their lead. If they're going to do handhelds, they need to take it seriously. Or gamers will stop taking them seriously.