A Weekend for Gamers

This weekend marked a milestone for gamers in North America as Sony and Nintendo launched their next generation game consoles.

A Bit of History
Nintendo once dominated the gaming industry with its NES and Super NES systems. While there was some competition from the Sega consoles, Nintendo held their domination until the Sony Playstation came out. Utilizing optical discs (CD's) instead of gaming cartridges allowed the Playstation to move into a whole new era of gaming. Nintendo decided to stick with the cartridges for the N64 console, but by that time the Playstation 2 entered the market which brought DVD-based games for better graphics. Since then Sony had their corner on the market until Microsoft decided to enter the console business. No one could have predicted that a gaming console based on Microsoft technologies called the Xbox could have been so successful being so late in the game (pun intended).

Next-generation Consoles
Microsoft decided to be the first to launch the next generation console which would eventually feature more online features and most importantly high definition gaming when they released the Xbox 360 just in time for the holidays in 2005. People stood in lines for days to get their own Xbox 360. Now a year later Nintendo and Sony have been gearing up to release the Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation 3 just before Christmas 2006. Again desperate gamers and profiteers stood side by side for days, some in inclement weather, to purchase their own Playstation 3 for $500 and their Nintendo Wii for $250. Both consoles were sold out on the first day of availability, and both manufacturers promise another shipment in about two weeks.

See the consoles side-by-side.

The Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 are gearing towards high-definition gaming while the Wii is focusing on whole new way of interactivity with video games using motion sensing controllers. All three companies are looking to be the device that provides you with the content you want right at your TV including video games, online content, and digital downloads.

Microsoft Xbox 360
Sony Playstation 3
Nintendo Wii