News for the Week of May 15, 2005

It may be Star Wars week for many, but for gamers (and their parents) this was the week of the console wars. The next-generation Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and a teeny new Game Boy dominated tech news because of the giant annual E3 game expo in Los Angeles this week.

Xbox on MTV

It's not on store shelves yet, but watch out gamers and parents of gamers, Xbox 360 will be available next fall for holiday shopping. It beat the E3 media rush with its unveiling during primetime on MTV late last week. One of the interesting things about it is the many ways gamers will be able to customize it - its hardware, the look of the screen, and games' background music (without losing their all-important sound effects), MTV reports. Also compelling will be the community part - "through Xbox Live, 64 players from around the world will be able to compete against each other in the same game," according to MTV. Parents may want to note this example of how game consoles are getting closer and closer to being connected computers, with the accompanying online-safety and PC security implications (console games, ideally, will need to be in high-traffic parts of the house too). Gamers will appreciate this insider's view of Xbox 360's development at GameSpot.com. It goes on sale in a number of countries next fall. Many other products will be unveiled next week at the giant "E3" games expo.

The Teeniest Console

One big part of this gaming story is the littlest box. Nintendo's Game Boy Micro, unveiled at the giant E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles, offers us a glimpse at the future, the Wall Street Journal suggests. In a story datelined in Tokyo, the Journal looks at "online play on the go." Gamers of all ages will be using phones and other very small devices to play in their micro worlds (aka games) that are just as much about community as gameplay. In fact, more and more games just give interest communities names, whether it's "Tetris" or "Othello" or a fantasy role-playing game. "Although the market is still small and fraught with technical hurdles, game makers see networked portable devices as a vital way to expand online game playing beyond the home. Interest has soared this year, sparked in part by the introduction of new, Wi-Fi-capable [Internet-connected] hand-held game machines from Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co.," according to the Journal. This is the mobile Internet - the one kids will access anywhere, anytime, not necessarily on the family PC on which parents have installed filtering or monitoring or time controls. Here's USATODAY on the phone-sized gameplayer.

Playstation 3

Playstation 3 had some impressive features at its unveiling, but it won't be available for nearly a year, USATODAY reports). Seven controllers will connect to it (including a Playstation Portable), it'll come in three colors and sit horizontally or vertically, have loads of power, support high-definition formats, connect to seven controllers (with Playstation Portable plugging in as a controller too), and have "built-in wireless and broadband [Internet] capability - plus all those old PS2 games will work on it. But Sony won't say yet what it'll cost.

Oh Yeah, The Games

Oh yeah, the games - what puts all these boxes on gamers' wish lists. "The next generation of games will be incredibly sophisticated, with high-definition graphics and myriad Net and wireless-based multiplayer options," CNET reports. On all three consoles and much more, here's CBS News/Associated Press.