So Sony just had their big E3 press conference yesterday for their next console, the Playstation 3. Some interesting stuff, but I don’t know… they basically showed off a XBox Live clone, some game demos that aren’t really much better than the 360, and a “new” controller that looks the same as the old controller, but is now wireless and has a tilt sensor which can detect 6 planes of movement. Hmmm, kind of like Nintendo’s controller, except not and more awkward. Based on what was shown, it looks like this feature was added into the controller pretty late into the development cycle, since none of the games took advantage of it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they just literally went off and copied Nintendo’s controller after they saw it last year at E3 2005. And here’s the kicker, the Playstation 3 is going to be at least $100 more expensive than Microsoft’s most expensive XBox 360 package. $499 for the basic system, or $599 for a system with a bigger hard drive.

Nintendo’s press conference for their new Wii (pronounced “we”) console however was almost completely different. Whereas Sony focused almost exclusively on numbers (look, Grand Turismo in high-def 1080p), Nintendo focused more on the unique game play opportunities provided by it’s new Wii-mote controller. They even had a live demo of a tennis game and brought an audience member up on stage to play. Just swing the controller like a tennis racket to hit the ball. That’s pretty cool and definitely looked like a lot of fun to play. And while they didn’t announce a price, rumors are that it’ll go for less than $300. Sweet.

Rounding out the press conferences was Microsoft for their XBox 360. They’ve already got a year’s head start on Sony and Nintendo, so they had tons of stuff to show. They announced an external HD-DVD drive, which is pretty cool. They talked a lot about XBox Live, and I think Microsoft has really got it right with XBox Live and the whole XBox Live Marketplace, where you can download demos or purchase mini arcade games. Everything about it is just done well, which is not that surprising, since Microsoft does have tremendous experience with developing online applications. XBox Live looks like it’s also going to extend onto other platforms such as Windows PCs and mobile phones. Neat-o. Finally, Microsoft capped off their press conference with the trailer for the game everybody knew was coming, Halo 3. Expect that to come out 2007.

So having said all that, I think Sony botched the price, copied a controller with no real direction for it, and given their history of producing consumer software, I don’t really have any confidence in their XBox Live clone. Nintendo on the other hand looks like it has the most potential. Most of their games looked like it could’ve been done graphically on a PS2 or XBox, but what sets it apart is the game play, and that looks like super fun. Microsoft is doing a lot things right, especially with their XBox Live service, and will most definitely be a strong contender for the “best next-gen system”. The 2006 holiday season looks like it’s going to be a great time for gamers