E3 kicked off and all three console makers have pushed the PR machines into high gear.

Looks like all three have jumped on the bandwagon of backwards compatibility - Sony betting that it can duplicate the success of the PS2 with the PS3. Who can argue with a machine that has an installed base of 2400+ games on launch day? That ought to give them an edge (not like they actually need one) in the upcoming console war.

Microsoft is first out of the gate, hoping that the holiday shopping season will boost their much touted Xbox 360. Nintendo is being relatively tight-lipped about its console, but the Revolution is known to be backwards compatible and feautre DVD player capability - belying Nintendo’s previous approach to its consoles being for games only. All three are expected to feature expanded online play.

It looks like all three will feature wireless controllers as standard - a first for any console. Though wireless controllers have come and gone in the past, it was only with the recent advent of cheap radio frequency technology that controllers were freed from “line of sight” play. Nintnedo’s Wavebird controller for the Gamecube was very well received (especially by this gamer), and several 3rd party hardware makers have introduced good controllers (I especially prefer the new Logitech Precision for both Xbox and PS2). I do hope that the console makers will offer corded support (IE, controller ports on the console) for gamers who wish to use old-style controllers with their old-style games.
Images on next page.

Rumors have it that the Revolution will feature downloadable games from the NES, SNES and N64. If Nintendo could pull this off correctly, then the console is truly deserving of the appelation “Revolution.”

Another annoucement - the Game Boy Micro. It’s for the GBA line of games and is supposed to be absolutely tiny (iPod size).

These new images (edit: links lost) have been more or less confirmed, but could change before actual product release. Apparently all of the makers have decided that sleeker is better and have gone for a “techno” look. I do pray that Sony will do something about the Batterrang controller - it needs serious help. There’s another pic floating around of the PS3 in several different color variations - which would be something sweet that the US usually doesn’t see too much of. That’s usually reserved for the Japanese market or even the European releases. Colors are good!

However, all is not well in the reporting news. This
CNN article warns of the grave danger that Microsoft is taking by releasing its console first:

Video game history is littered with failed firsts, where the technological marvels of their time failed to lure buyers because of a lack of games or high costs. Examples include Sega’s Dreamcast and Atari’s Jaguar handheld.

Oh, geez.
First - the Jaguar handheld? Good grief… the Jaguar is a console, not a handheld. The writer obviously didn’t research his facts - it was the Atari Lynx that was the handheld.
Second, the Dreamcast wasn’t a failure when it first came out! Period. It broke records all over the place during its launch week. It launched with a record number of available games. In the opinion of many hardcore gamers (this one included), the Dreamcast did not fail at all - Sega simply pulled the plug. To write it off as a simple “failed first” is… blasphemey!