Story Author: Associated Press
Publish Date: N/A
Source Publication: MSNBC

Gamers awaited details of Sony Corp.’s new PlayStation 3 video game machine Monday in what is likely a new round of console wars with rivals Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo Co.

Sony officials were introducing Cell—ultra-fast processors jointly developed by Sony and Toshiba Corp.—as a way to deliver games with ever more realistic, movie-like graphics.

The chip’s designers have said Cell an deliver 10 times the performance of today’s standard PC processors. The announcement comes two days ahead of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, an annual industry gathering in Los Angeles.

Earlier in the season, Microsoft showcased its new Xbox 360 in a 30 minute special on MTV.

Microsoft said it would begin selling Xbox 360 in North America around Thanksgiving and Europe and Asia by the end of the year. Officials at Sony and Nintendo have suggested their consoles will launch sometime next year.

No pricing details have been announced on any of the systems. Microsoft planned a news conference, to discuss its new console, code-named Revolution, further in the near future.

In 2004, Sony’s older PlayStation 2 led the U.S. console wars with 43 percent of the market, according to Jupiter Research. The original Xbox was a distant No. 2 with 19 percent, followed by Nintendo’s GameCube at 14 percent. The remainder included handheld game systems.

But by 2010, Xbox 360 would grab the lead with 38 percent of the market, followed by Sony with 32 percent and Nintendo with 22 percent, Jupiter forecasts.

Microsoft is taking an entertainment hub approach with Xbox 360. The curvy, white machine plays DVD movies and lets users listen to music, view photos and do real-time video chats with friends and relatives around the world.