With the release of the Microsoft Xbox 360, the Nintendo Wii, and the Sony Playstation 3, three videogame giants have ushered in a new era of gaming that will completely revamp the family rooms of thousands of Americans. These three consoles target various audiences with several strengths that are carefully attuned to the targeted gamers’ tastes. They are all capable of playing, music, videos, but are all focused on making gaming the best experience possible.

Microsoft was the first to release its "next generation" console. First released on Nov. 22, 2005, more than 10.4 million units have been sold worldwide as of Dec. 31, 2006. Two versions are currently offered, the core system for $300 and the premium package for $400. The premium package includes the core console, an extra 20-gigabyte hard-drive, Ethernet cables for online play, an Xbox Live headset, a wireless controller, component and composite cables for high definition play, along with a membership of Xbox Live Silver and one month free of Xbox Live Gold. The core package comes only with the core console, a wired controller, a membership in Xbox Live Silver and one month free of Xbox Live Gold. Each console also comes with a DVD player, while a high definition player is sold separately for $200. While the 3.2-gigahertz processor Xbox 360 focuses mainly on gaming, Microsoft has clearly made an effort to make it the media center of the family room. Microsoft has widened its target audience to include everyone in a family with the ability to stream movies, photos, and music from your home computer,.

Released Nov. 19, 2006, the Nintendo Wii is the most simplistic new generation console yet. The name, Wii, represents "We," the community of gamers that the Wii can connect with. Sporting a nonchalant glossy white, the Wii is a mere eight and a half inches long and six inches wide, roughly the size of three DVD cases stacked on top of each other. The Wii may sit flat on a surface, or neatly on a slightly oblique stand. The console emits a soft, glowing, blue light from the opening of the disc drive. A sensor bar that detects the tip of the infrared wireless controller sits inconspicuously near the connected TV. When scrolling through the menu screen on the Wii’s interface, you may either point the controller or simply toggle the joystick to select. The controller vibrates slightly when passing over selections on the screen, a nice feature that makes navigation more effortless. The small and lightweight Nunchuck attachment plugs into the Wiimote, allowing many more functions, such as a joystick, two trigger buttons, and an extra accelerometer. Lastly, a small power button sits neatly tucked into the top left corner of the controller, allowing for instantaneous shut down of the console.

The Wii’s home menu screen is filled with square tiles called channels, each with a different function. The first is the list for the Disc Channel, which is for Wii games and backwards-compatible GameCube games. Next is the Mii Channel, which is for organizing and creating customizable characters called Mii’s. The third channel is the Photo Channel, which screens pictures read from an SD card. Following is the Wii Shop channel, for buying games that were released on the previous Nintendo consoles like the SNES. The Weather Channel displays the forecast for every major city in the world. The news channel lets you search through recent news, and the Internet channel allows users to browse the Web through an Opera browser. All the games bought off the virtual console takes their own new channel title.

Released Nov. 11, 2006, the Playstation 3 proved to be an amazing system with off-the-wall performance in almost every aspect. With more than 1.5 million units sold as of Jan. 1, 2007, the PS3 utilizes cell processor technology. A development which has been in the pipeline for many years. The cell chip acts like a supercomputer, running at 3.2-gigahertz, faster than most advanced computers to date. Like the Xbox 360, two versions of the PS3 are available, a premium package for $599.99 and a core package for $499.99. Both versions come with a Bluetooth controller, DVD player, Ethernet cables for online play, and the highly touted Blu-ray drive (Blu-ray is Sony’s high definition technology competing with HD-DVD In the format war for "next generation" video watching). The premium package comes with an additional 60-gigabyte hard drive and Wi-Fi, while the basic package comes with a 20-gigabyte hard drive. However, unlike the Xbox 360, if you have a high-definition television, the necessary cables are sold separately.

These three consoles each present an amazing gaming experience. The Wii boasts more revolutionary game play than the other systems, but the processing speed and the graphics do not match up to Xbox 360s and PS3s standards. The PS3 presents amazing power, capability, and graphics in all its games, but it is not for the low budget gamer. The Xbox 360 offers a little less in graphic capabilities, but retains an edge over the PS3 with its significantly lower price. Due to the early launch date, the Xbox 360 has gained a head start with over 100 developed games and an established online gaming system. The Xbox 360 and the PS3 are superior in media capabilities, and the Wii has the facility to use the Internet in a way that relates directly to the player. Simply put, all three systems each have their strengths and weaknesses, but all are sure to make many people happy campers. In fact, you may need to do just that, camp outside your local technology store, if you hope to get your hands on the PS3 or Wii.