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Nintendo reveals details Tuesday of its new system, code-named Revolution, after Sony's announcement of the PlayStation 3 console Monday and Microsoft's unveiling of Xbox 360 on an MTV special last Thursday. (Related story: PS3 purports to pack the most power)
All the action is taking place before the annual E3 Expo, which begins Wednesday. The three gaming giants will unveil the systems there.
Microsoft is expected to have the Xbox 360 in stores first, in time for the holidays. Nintendo and Sony will follow in 2006. No prices have been set, and release dates have not been locked in.
Nintendo, whose GameCube sales have lagged, hopes to gain ground, particularly among the fast-growing older-gaming market. Revolution is about the size of a stack of three DVD cases and has no visible knobs, buttons or ports for joysticks. The system will use only wireless controllers, and it sits flat or stands vertically.
With its front-loading slot for discs, it will play games on full-size DVDs as well as older GameCube games on mini-DVDs. Like Xbox and PlayStation 2, it will play DVD movies.
Nintendo, which mostly ignored the Net with GameCube, also is catching up with the online wave. Revolution will offer broadband access to a free Internet-based player matching service, similar to Xbox Live, that also will have downloadable versions of nearly every Nintendo game