Though most next-gen systems won't be on the market until sometime in 2006, the eyes of both industry insiders and consumers alike are scanning for any info on what's coming. This is a preview of what to expect from each of the main players in this battle: Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft.
After Star Wars has come and gone, there is perhaps an even bigger battle on the horizon. It won't be fought in sleek starfighters, or even by troops of any sort... instead, it will be fought inside of the retail stores for the hearts, minds, and money of the adoring public. Coming soon to a shopping center near you is the Console Wars.
Competition has always been fierce when it comes to home gaming. Even back in the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Genesis, it was always about who could create a better product and sell the most units. Years have passed since then, and Sega has stepped back from the home console market to instead create games for companies. Sony claimed the market from Nintendo (with a technology that it was originally developing for Nintendo), and Microsoft has entered the fray with a system of their own. On the verge of going the way of Sega, Nintendo released the GameCube and won back some of the admiration it had lost over the years. With the next generation of gaming systems about to be released, however, it looks as though it's anybody's game.
Sony's PlayStation 3
In true Sony style, the PlayStation 3 (also known as the PS3) is truly a masterpiece. The system is a behemoth of power, boasting 256mb XDR main RAM at 3.2 Ghz as well as an additional 256MB of GDDR VRAM at 700mhz. The brain behind all of this is known as the Cell processor, and will run at 3.2 Ghz... a speed to be envied by even modern desktop computers. The entire system will have 2.18 teraflops of overall performance, being able to access the memory in a way that modern computers cannot because of their operating systems. Computer enthusiasts who have seen the stats for the PS3 are already wondering when they'll be able to plop down their money to bring one of these monster machines into their homes.
Of course, there's more to the PS3 than just a powerful machine. The sleek, rounded body of Sony's new beast will sport massive games (such as the game that they recently showed a demo for at E3, which is rumored to be Unreal Tournament 2007) as well as the huge, in-depth RPG's which have become almost synonymous with PlayStations past and present. To top it all off, the PS3 will feature compatibility with CR-ROM, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R formats, and the PS3 discs will feature Blu-Ray technology. For those who don't know, Blu-Ray discs are able to hold around 6 times as much information as current DVD's... a capability that the PS3 will likely press to its limits. Of course, the PS3 will also be backwards-compatible with both PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games.