Star Players:
hey, kids, can you say "crushing debt?" No matter-if you're a gamer, you'll learn soon enough. Consider the facts: over 5000 products-80 percent arriving by Christmas-were on display at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the annual industry trade show held May 18-20 in Los Angeles.
Read between the lines (tricky on the convention floor itself, with public relations reps, scantily-clad dancers, and sweaty geeks all intermingled) and the moral of the story becomes obvious: virtual reality is on the rise. Still feeling skeptical? Get this: not one, but three new console systems-Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Revolution-will debut before year's-end 2006. Handheld devices such as the PlayStation Portable and Gizmondo are en vogue again too; picture hordes of social outcasts scrabbling for a peek at the cell phone-sized Game Boy Micro.
As more than 70,000 attendees observed-assuming they managed to take their eyes off all the rock-hard ass (mmm...booth babes) and futuristic gadgets crowding multiple exhibit halls- the hobby's future looks bright indeed. Translation: you'd have to be a Hilton (or sleeping with one, at least) to afford even half the digital delights that'll soon have audiences hyperventilating. So hurry up-liquidate stocks, sell back CDs, and swipe grandma's Social Security check ASAP. With must-have titles like these heralding an impending holiday rush, hell, that skid-stain you call a paycheck just ain't gonna cut it.
Advance Wars: Under Fire (not pictured)
Genre: Strategy For: GameCube
Publisher: Nintendo, www.nintendo.com
War is hell...except here, where it's surprisingly entertaining. Commanding self-aware tanks and troops throughout a series of real-time 3D conflicts, annihilate enemies using brute force or tactical brilliance. Squad-level strategic planning is crucial; wits take precedence over weaponry, assuring you'll ultimately get less use from guns than grey matter.