Battle of the Gaming Consoles

Sony announced yesterday that their new gaming console, the PlayStation 3 will retail for $499 (20 GB) and $599 (60 GB) and is slated for a November release date, just in time for Christmas. I think this officially make the PS3 the most expensive console compared to the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. So here's a quick glance at new features you can expect from each of these consoles.

Playstation 3: This is by far the most expensive, but also the most sophisticated system of the three. It runs on a Cell processor which makes it twice as fast as the Xbox 360. The system integrates a Blue-Ray high-definition DVD player that will also support current media such as DVD and CD formats, and word has it once Blue-Ray players are released they will cost close to $1,000. In terms of backward-compatibility, it plays original PlayStation and PS2 games. Sony also introduced an improved wireless motion-sensitive controller for the PS3 that interacts with the game, and will support up to seven controllers for multi-player gaming.

Xbox 360: This console was released last November and was the first one with high-definition capabilities. It is priced between $299-$399. To remain competitive with the PS3, the company plans to release a few peripherals that include the Xbox Live Vision Camera, a Racing Wheel controller and a wireless headset that integrates with the Xbox 360 as well as an HD-DVD player--all available for the holidays. The $399 model does have a 20 GB hard-drive and supports a total of four wireless controllers in multi-player gaming.

Nintendo Wii: Details are still fuzzy about this system, but I do know that it will be released at the end of the year. No price has been announced yet, but most speculate it will be under $300 since it has no high-definition graphics unlike the PS3 and Xbox 360. It's also backward compatible, so it will play other Nintendo games. The controller is shaped like a TV remote control, has speakers built-in and also has motion sensing capabilities which means you can wave it like a sword or fire it like a gun. Nintendo will also be releasing a Wii Sports pack that will include games of tennis, baseball and golf. Nintendo games are considered more family friendly, and with a name change like Wii they hope to attract more non-gamers.

Of course, this is just a quick glance at just a few features unveiled so far in the last two days during the E3 conference. So what gaming console are you getting?