Microsoft's
It's the logical next step after the Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY.PK) Wii, whose controllers act less like joysticks or button aggregators, and more like magic wands. Just stand in front of your TV and perform some gestures or a little dance, and the onscreen character should act accordingly. Without intimidating control sticks, Microsoft hopes to lure nontraditional gamers into the Xbox fold, from toddlers to grandmas.
Microsoft's new controller is now known as Kinect, a portmanteau of "kinetic" and "connect" that seems to describe the game experience fairly well. Due to hit store shelves in November, the Kinect will play a key role in this year's holiday sales story. Sony
The current crop of consoles represent enormous development investments and efforts from all three big-name system makers. Nintendo might eventually make the jump to high-definition graphics and modernized hardware in general, but it's getting harder to improve on the state of the art. As much as Activision Blizzard
Is Kinect a game-changer or just another useless gizmo? The truth lies somewhere inbetween, I suspect, but you can voice your own opinion in the comments below.