It’s been a long time coming, but Sony’s Playstation 3 is finally here. Well, in Japan at least - it launches in the US on November 17, and in Europe and Australia in March 2007. But in its home country, Japan, the PS3 looks to wipe out the Xbox 360 into the dust in a display of shock and awe only the US Military was thought capable of. Can the Xbox survive in Japan?

Just as Disney cast a spell over billions of fans over the decades, so does the Buena Vista Games (BVG) group hope to enchant millions of Nintendo owners with exclusive Disney games for years to come. Will it be a wonderful world of Disney for gamers?

The all-out war in the next-generation gaming space is finally heating up big time, with the aim of dominating the living room and home entertainment the jewel in the crown that everyone desires. Is it enough to fend off the Blu-ray threat of the PS3?

Sony urges consumers to be wary of PS3 scams, the Halo movie is officially postponed, and the Nintendo Wii to launch with 62 games by year’s end.

With Microsoft’s next-gen console firmly a now-gen reality thanks to an impending one year birthday, Microsoft have made dozens of improvements, including 1080p HD output, available free of charge. Is it enough to fend off the competition?

In the seven months since the Xbox 360 launched on Australian shores, over 100,000 consoles have sold along with 400,000 games titles, setting new records in the Aussie market. Can Xbox 360 maintain the pace with Wii and PS3 hot on the trail?

While many parts of the world, including Australia, won’t be seeing a PS3 in stores until March 2007, the US and Japanese launch is still set for November and final preparations are well underway, while the Wii’s online service, which is launching worldwide in November and December with the Wii itself, is also being finalised. While new online services for the Wii and PS3 show great potential, what is some of the history, and where are they going?

It’s quite likely to be illegal, so chances a new virtual gaming system, featuring 1980s Nintendo games, will be taken off the Internet quite soon. But it’s one way of experiencing what retro games from the original NES (Nintendo Entertainement System) from the 80s will be like to play on the Nintendo Wii - without needing to actually buy one yet (as they’re not available!), buying an actual old console with all the cartridges, or fiddling around with emulation software and downloading roms and games. What is it? The Virtual Nintendo Entertainment System with 395 games!

Before the iPod, the iPaq was the “i-word” on many people’s lips. It started as a line of Pocket PCs by Compaq, and were known for their stylish design and multimedia capabilities thanks to Windows Media Player. Yet despite their small size, advanced touch screen, large software base and clever computing capabilities, the iPod instead is arguably the world’s most well known new technological gadget, even though digital cameras outsell iPods and mp3 players two-to-one and Pocket PCs have been around for much longer.

Earlier this week we got a chance to play with the Nintendo Wii at a special sneak preview for technology and gaming journalists. Far from being weird, it’s actually a welcome change to the way games are played - and won. Of course, with a name like Wii, it makes you want to use as many ‘w’ words as possible when writing, just for fun. And fun is what Wii is!

What’s the new world-first Lexus Hybrid all-wheel drive like? Well, just like driving a great luxury car with the smooth ride you’d expect. When you start the car, there’s no audible turning of the engine - it’s done with electric power! A fuller report with some photos this week. There’ll also be an update on Windows Vista, some new Epson products, a report on what it’s like to actually play with and use the Nintendo Wii (read it above!) along with photos with me and others in action on the latest motion-controlled games including driving, sports, fishing, Zelda and more.

Nintendo’s upcoming games console, the Wii, will launch in Australia on December 7 at AUD $399.95. The press release just came into my inbox at 9.14pm - a few minutes ago as this is being blogged! Details below…

Ever since ‘force feedback’ technology in games controllers and steering wheels became popular a few years ago, people have wanted ways to make our entertainment experiences ever more realistic and enjoyable.

Looking forward to Sony’s next-generation games console, the PS3?

If you live in Australia, Europe, Russia, Africa and other PAL TV standard territories, you’ll be waiting a little longer than you expected, with the PS3 for these territories being delayed until March 2007!

$249.95
www.pyramat.com.au

Full system $649.95, Core system $499.95 www.xbox.com.au

512MB ERP $125.95; 1GB $175.95
www.lexar.com.au
Lexar’s Gaming Edition Memory Stick PRO Duo is uniquely designed to appeal to owners of Sony’s PSP entertainment system, letting you save your game settings quickly, store MP3s, videos, photos and other digital data and is compatible with other devices using the Sony Memory Stick PRO Duo media. The newly reduced price is very nice, too!

ERP $99
www.gvae.com.au
An amazing collection of very useful accessories to protect and enhance your Sony PSP. Everything is included except the kitchen sink!