E3's heavy hitters: the consoles to watch at this year's show

May 3, 2006

E3 2006 is upon us, and there will be no shortage of hardware news at this year's show. There should be some solid info on Nintendo and Sony's next-gen consoles, the Wii and PlayStation 3, respectively. While we may not nail down official release dates and prices just yet, expect to see many games for each prospective platform in motion. The Xbox 360 has had a half year on the market without any competition, and Microsoft will come out with guns blazing to take back the attention of gamers, whether via new accessories (an affordable HD-DVD player) or blockbuster sequels (a Halo 3 trailer is rumored). On the handheld front, Nintendo should be lining up some big new titles for its forthcoming DS Lite, releasing in the United States on June 11. You can keep up with all the latest news on all these consoles and their respective games by visiting E3.CNET.com when the show starts on May 8.

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DS Lite available June 11 for $130

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Product name	Microsoft Xbox 360 (20GB)	Nintendo DS Lite (polar white)	Sony PSP	Nintendo Wii	Sony PlayStation 3 (60GB)

Review date	November 19, 2007	April 12, 2006	March 23, 2005	November 13, 2006	November 13, 2006

Editors' rating (Editors' rating explained)	8.5 Excellent	8.0 Excellent	8.1 Excellent	8.0 Excellent	8.7 Excellent

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Review summary	With its extensive digital media features, a superior online service, and an excellent game library, the Xbox 360 remains the game console to beat.	With a slick new design, brighter screens, and a growing library of fun and innovative games, the Nintendo DS Lite is an impressive improvement over the original DS.	The Sony PSP elevates portable gaming to the next level, but its multimedia functionality falls short of its full potential.	It lacks the graphical prowess and rich media features of the Xbox 360 and the PS3, but the Nintendo Wii's combination of unique motion-sensitive controllers and emphasis on fun gameplay make the ultra-affordable console hard to resist.	The high-end Sony PlayStation 3's larger hard drive and ability to play PS2 games makes it a worthwhile alternative to the cheaper model--so long as you're willing to wait several months for the more promising exclusive titles to hit store shelves. If backward compatibility is your top priority, this hard-to-find model may be worth the search.

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User comments	7.4 Very good (from 1158 users)	8.5 Excellent (from 130 users)	7.8 Very good (from 1416 users)	8.2 Excellent (from 760 users)	7.5 Very good (from 1167 users)
Basic Specs
Media Type	DVD-ROM	Cartridge	UMD (Universal Media Disc)	Nintendo GAMECUBE disc , Nintendo Wii disc	BD-ROM , CD-ROM , DVD-ROM

Processor type	PowerPC	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	PowerPC	Cell

RAM installed size	512 MB	Info unavailable	32 MB	512 MB	256 MB

Graphics Processor / Vendor	ATI Xbox 360	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	ATI Hollywood	NVIDIA RSX

Video RAM installed	10 MB	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	256 MB

Max resolution (external)	1920 x 1080	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	1920 x 1080


Product name	Microsoft Xbox 360 (20GB)	Nintendo DS Lite (polar white)	Sony PSP	Nintendo Wii	Sony PlayStation 3 (60GB)

Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications

Price range	Check latest prices $199-$259 from 4 stores	Check latest prices $129-$166 from 5 stores	Check latest prices $169-$253 from 2 stores	Check latest prices $313 from 1 store	Email me when this product is available