PlayStation 3 (Sony)

Mike Logan can hardly wait for Sony's PlayStation 3 to hit store shelves Nov. 17, but he doesn't plan to rush out and buy one — yet.

It's a decision video game fans everywhere are wrestling with as the big players in the video game console market — Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo — fire their latest salvos in the hotly contested battle for gamers' attention and money.

Prices for the latest generation of consoles have soared to the point where they cost more than some full-fledged desktop computers, so many would-be buyers face the prospect of making a long-term investment in game platforms that have yet to prove their worthiness.

Wii (Nintendo)

Logan is eager to try out Sony's new video game console so he can evaluate whether to plunk down hundreds of dollars for the market leader's next-generation offering, or Microsoft Corp.'s competing Xbox 360, which was released last year. Nintendo's new Wii console (pronounced "we") is another new entry in the video game console war, but it's not a contender for the self-professed hardcore gamer, who says its lack of high-end graphics makes it more suitable for children.

"Mainly, I'm waiting to see what the PlayStation 3 is like," he said, explaining that during the last console cycle he felt the strong sting of buyer's remorse when he bought a console too soon.

Hard lesson

"I picked up the PlayStation 2 first and realized that was a mistake," said Logan, a dedicated fan of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s top-selling console, which launched on Oct. 26, 2000, for about $450 (it has since fallen to about $130).

The realization he had made a grave error came after Microsoft launched its similarly priced first entry into the console gaming market, the original Xbox, on Nov. 15, 2001 — after he had already bought his PS2.

"When I got my Xbox, I basically stopped playing on the PlayStation 2," he said. He adds that he found games on the Xbox looked and played better than on the PS2 — especially Xbox exclusives such as Microsoft's Halo series of science fiction action games.

That costly experience is one the 30-year-old Oakville resident doesn't want to repeat with the latest generation of consoles. "I want to give it a chance to test drive them both," he said, referring to the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

Sticker shock

Pricing for the new consoles varies widely thanks to big differences in functions and multiple models being offered by Sony and Microsoft.

Sony's PS3 starts at $549.99 for the base model, which has a 20 gigabyte hard drive to store content, while its premium model with a 60GB drive comes in at just under a sticker-shock inducing $659.99. The pricing announcement at Sony's E3 press conference at its Culver City studios in May was met with stunned silence and a few shocked gasps from hundreds of journalists attending.

Xbox 360 (Microsoft)

The Xbox 360 launched last year at $399.99 for a basic "core" system, and $499.99 for a premium version that featured "extras" such as a 20 GB hard drive, wireless controller, an HD-AV cable to connect the unit to a high-definition TV, and a remote control. But the HD-DVD drive, launched Nov. 10, will cost an additional $199.99, bringing the console system into the same price range as Sony's next-generation offerings.

In contrast to the high-definition consoles, Nintendo's Wii is priced at $279.95, part of the company's strategy to remain as accessible as possible to the widest range of consumers.

The reason for wide variance in prices becomes apparent after examining the features and technologies each of the consoles employ.

The new breed

One of the elements attracting gamers to the latest consoles is that the advanced hardware can amplify the visual experience beyond what was previously possible. Sony and Microsoft's offerings are both powerful machines that feature high-resolution graphics capabilities and are designed to take advantage of the growing popularity of high-definition television screens.

Both consoles also contain chips co-developed with IBM, giving the machines processing capabilities more powerful than what the supercomputers of a decade earlier could deliver. Sony in particular has been touting the advantages of the Cell chip, the development of which was also aided by Toshiba.

Wii (Nintendo)

In contrast, Nintendo Co. Ltd. has chosen not to follow the route of its rivals, concentrating instead on making its latest console more affordable. Nintendo is employing current — instead of cutting-edge — technology for the Wii's brain and graphics engine. The so-called Hollywood graphics chip by Markham, Ont.-based ATI Technologies, Inc., is the core of the machine's visuals. The world's No. 2 chipmaker, AMD, Inc., bought ATI last month.

Too early for high-definition?

The Japanese video games company could have gone head-to-head with its diversified competitors on computing power and graphics in this console cycle, the director and general manager of Nintendo's entertainment analysis and development division said in May, but it chose not to for several reasons.

"If we wanted to do it, we could have done so easily," Shigeru Miyamoto said in a private briefing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) industry conference and trade show in Los Angeles. "But games are not just about graphics."

Miyamoto, the brain behind video game hits such as Mario Bros., Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda, noted that most people in North America do not own a high-definition (HD) television set to display cutting-edge visuals.

"We felt that this time the emphasis should be on the player," Miyamoto said, adding that was the reason Nintendo's new console uses an innovative motion-sensitive control device.

"In five years it will be a given that Nintendo will produce a HD system," he said. "Right now it's just too early."

DVD war

Xbox 360 (Microsoft)

Nintendo's assessment clearly diverges from Sony and Microsoft's, which are both making a play for control of consumers' living rooms. Both companies are offering high-definition DVD playback on their consoles as well as the ability to play music.

Sony has included its new Blu-ray disc player in the PS3 and Microsoft sells an add-on DVD drive based on the competing HD disc standard, making for a latter-day movie format war akin to the Beta-VHS video tape battle of the 1980s.

Although a Nintendo executive had previously suggested that the Wii would play movie DVDs for models that ship in Japan, that function will not be available when the console launches in North America on Nov. 19, or in Japan on Dec. 2.

Aside from the emphasis on graphics and movies, the biggest difference in the consoles is the way in which players will interact with them.

Wii (Nintendo)

Nintendo has generated widespread buzz in the industry and among gamers with its wireless motion-sensitive controller, which is styled like a television remote control connected by a cable to a computer mouse. People can use the remote to point and shoot, or swing it like a baseball bat or sword to see their physical actions duplicated in the game. Similarly, they can use the mouse or "nunchuk" to steer their character around onscreen.

Sony, meanwhile, announced its own motion-sensitive controller at its E3 press conference at its Culver City, Calif. studios in May. The wireless Sixaxis controller is styled like the PlayStation 2's DualShock gamepad.

All three consoles are capable of connecting online through their own dedicated internet-based gaming networks, but only Microsoft's Xbox Live network is operating. Sony and Nintendo have both said that their own networks will be available at launch.

Scarce supply

PlayStation 3 (Sony)

But even those willing to rush out and spend the cash for a cutting-edge consoles launching this year may find it nearly impossible to get their hands on one, analysts say.

Sony will have just 400,000 consoles available for launch in North America, and a global total of 1.1 million by the end of the year. Sony had previously said it would have some four million units available for the holiday season but was saddled with production problems. The supply problem earlier this year triggered a surprise surge in video game sales, with titles for the PlayStation 2 seeing big gains.

Nintendo expects to have one million Wiis in North America at launch and four million worldwide this holiday season.

Microsoft says it won't have supply problems through the lucrative holiday shopping season, which could bode well for the company as it faces new high-powered rivals, according to some market watchers. Microsoft, which has already sold some six million of its next-generation consoles, aims to increase that figure to 10 million by the end of its fiscal year in June.

"I think enough consumers have made up their minds that they're not getting a PlayStation 3 this year," Michael Pachter, the managing director of research at Wedbush Morgan Securities, told CBC News Online.

Mike Logan isn't convinced. He says he won't line up to buy a console but after waiting for a year he's willing to wait a little longer to buy a PS3 — if it turns out to be a better offering in his eyes. He says the price disparity between the PS3 and Xbox 360 models is not a factor for him.

"A couple of hundred dollars isn't going to make much difference if you want to buy a console," he said, admitting that his year-long wait to consider the PS3 may turn out to have been unnecessary. "Right now, I'm looking at getting the Xbox."

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