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.

Microsoft's Xbox 360

Next up, we have the next-gen system from Microsoft, the Xbox 360. The 360 was actually the first of the three next-gen consoles to be debuted, and will be released in time for Christmas 2005 instead of the 2006 debuts of its competitors. Another tower of power, the new Xbox will feature a custom-built CPU based on the IBM Power PC with three symmetrical cores running at 3.2 GHz each, as well as 512 MB of 700 MHz GDDR3 RAM with a unified memory architecture. This will allow for 1 teraflop of overall system performance, all with a customizable user interface and interchangeable face plates.

Like the PS3, the Xbox 360 will be featuring massive games that Microsoft claims "redefines what games look like, sound like, feel like, and play like to engage you like never before." Using both the already-established Xbox Live network as well as internet connectivity for the new Xbox Gamer Guide, the 360 seeks to bring conectivity to a new level. Featuring support for DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, and JPEG Photo CD media, as well as the ability to burn MP3's to cd, it seems that Microsoft has a solid contender on their hands.

Nintendo's Revolution

Perhaps the smallest and most closely-guarded of the three systems is the Nintendo Revolution. The unit, which will be about the size of 3 stacked DVD cases, was featured briefly at E3... but Nintendo still is keeping much of the information about it a secret. What is known is that it features a custom processor designed with IBM, as well as graphics capabilities designed in a partnership with ATI. The system will feature 12-centimeter discs, but may not feature the name "Revolution"... they claim that it's a codename, and no word has yet been released as to what the system's actual name will be.

Some information has been released, however... and it's information that has Nintendo fanatics frothing at the mouth. Like the other two systems, the Revolution will feature internet connectivity (via Wi-Fi, in the Revolution's case), as well as backwards compatibility. The self-loading disc drive will accept both the Revolution's 12cm discs as well as the GameCube's 8cm discs. The compatibility doesn't stop there, however; Nintendo has plans to make its entire back catalog of games available via download to the Revolution, and it will be able to play them all. That includes classics from the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo, and the Nintendo 64... all of which can be played with either the Revolution's wireless controllers, or using GameCube controllers (which the new system is designed to be compatible with.)

Let the Games Begin

For the typical rabid gamer, the release of these next-gen systems seems to be ages away. The Xbox 360 will be the first released during the 2005 holiday season, though one can expect them to quickly be in short supply. The PlayStation 3 will follow soon after in 2006, along with the Nintendo Revolution (or whatever they're calling it by that point.) The competition among these systems will likely be intense, as it's the first time in several years that all 3 major players have released systems in this close proximity to each other. (There has usually been at least a year between releases of at least one system in relation to the others.) As for who will win the Console Wars, the answer is pretty clear... it will be the gamers.