The Console Wars are heating up again, and this could be the most interesting battle since... Well... The last one.

Honestly this one will be better. Last time you had the Sony PlayStation 2, vs. Microsoft XBox, vs. Nintendo Gamecube. The Gamecube seemed behind before it began, and the XBox was clearly the most powerful system, but the real excitement was watching Sony push those PS2's everywhere, and succeed. Since then the XBox has become the console of choice for hackers. I've seen what new software and a mod-chip can do for an XBox, and trust me, they're awesome. The XBox 360, however, does not have the functionality that allows quite the same upside.

A quick summary of each company's offerings:

The Microsoft XBox 360 is out, and has been for a while. I don't know much about it, to be honest.

Sony is releasing the PS2 in the fall for a ridiculous amount of money. The fully functional version will cost like $700. Of course you also get a Blu-ray disc player included, and a standalone blu-ray player is going to cost near $1000 in the fall, so by that perspective, the PS3 is a good deal. The question is, how many non-gamers are going to pick up a PS3 instead of a standalone blu-ray player? And what if blu-ray gets crushed by HD-DVD in the marketplace? Betting a console on a possibly DOA storage unit seems risky, but Sony is sort of betting their whole company on the PS3 and blu-ray, so it makes sense to cross-market. A popular PS3 will mean huge automatic markets for blu-ray discs. The other big thing about the PS3 is that it is ridiculous powerful, absolutely crushing the competition in that area. The question in people's minds is, "Does power matter anymore?"

Nintendo is answering that question with a resounding, "No!" The Wii, formerly known as the Revolution, isn't much more powerful than the GameCube was, but it has a new and allegedly innovative control system. It sorta sounds like what the Power Glove was supposed to be, but without a glove. Move the controller and the character onscreen moves. I think it also has a laser pointer for shooting games and the like. Plus it's rumored that the system will sell for $250 at launch. I may even get one myself. The controllers look like fun, and Nintendo always has the best games.

The really intriguing part is that Microsoft was making fun of Sony's price point and remarked that consumers could buy an XBox360 AND a Wii for less than a PS3. The official seemed impressed with the Wii's controls, too.