Microsoft and Sony’s consoles are based off the idea that people want more from their consoles than just games. This opens their consoles up to a much larger target audience and allows their consoles to be installed in even the most casual gamer’s living room. The Xbox and PlayStation2 both play games, movies, and music. However that is just the beginning.

The PlayStation3 is set to go way beyond the features of the PS2 by making the same promises previously made about the PS2. It will play standard DVDs, CDs, and Blu-ray Discs, and the stunning visuals offered by the system can be displayed on two high-definition screens. Other features include a hard drive, three Gigabit Ethernet ports, and Bluetooth 2.0 enabled wireless. The PlayStation3 promises to be the center of the living room because it is supposed to meet all of the consumer’s entertainment needs. All of the features packed in this system will supposedly future proof it.

Microsoft followed up their Xbox in a similar manner with the Xbox 360; however, it does not have as many features as the PlayStation3. There are two Xbox 360 models available, the core system and the premium system. In order to actually experience a significant advance in technology, the premium system is needed. The premium system comes with a removable 20Gigabyte hard drive and a wireless controller. The Xbox 360 currently only plays standard DVDs and CDs, but it may be manufactured play HD DVDs in the future; however, it does support high-definition screens.

Both consoles are more concerned with high-definition visuals and mass storage rather than creating a video game console that is simply a video game console. It will be shown whether or not these future proofed boxes will actually last and offer the gamer what he wants.


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