Sony PlayStation 3
Cost: £420 (full version)
Available: next March

Sony failed to supply a fully working unit for this feature because it didn’t want the unit directly compared to other consoles so we’ve reviewed it on the basis of the prototype loaned to us and reports from games industry experts. The console is relatively large, the size of bathroom scales, but runs surprisingly quietly and there is no brutish power supply — it’s built-in. The design is classic Sony cool, with a semi-translucent case, touch-sensitive buttons and a classy slot-loading disc drive.

That said, early reports describe the new Sony “Sixaxis” controller as cheap and lightweight with slightly awkward trigger buttons. This controller is tilt-sensitive, so you can play some games by wafting it around. A clever feature, yet not as sophisticated as the Wii.

Sony’s all-in-one home entertainment ambitions are evident in the PS3’s software menus. They will offer easier navigation of photos or videos and a web browser.

Sony’s online gaming service is free, and the console can download classic PlayStation games and other material, such as film trailers. The PS3 will rip your music from CDs onto its optional 60GB hard disk. It can handle files stored on USB media players and Sony’s own Memory Sticks or SD cards.

However, the biggest draw is a built-in Blu-ray disc player for movies. The PS3 is the only console able to output the current gold standard of video, 1080p, over a clutter-free digital HDMI connection. Sony insists this is the hallmark of next-generation gaming. Many experts think the advantages over an Xbox 360 are marginal.

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And what of the games? After all its puff, this pricey machine needs to deliver something special. Well, it’s early days for the PS3. Sony’s launch line-up has obvious stars, but few heavy-hitting exclusives. Early glimpses of the big PS3-only games have led to criticism of loose controls and unadventurous gameplay. Some are wowing the pundits, but the key title Resistance: Fall of Man has so far drawn unflattering comparisons with Microsoft’s Gears of War.

On paper the PS3 is slightly more powerful and its quiet operation will be more living- room friendly than the Xbox. But the price tag is hefty and Sony still has much to prove.

Microsoft Xbox 360
Price: £280 (full version)
Available: Now

The Xbox 360 is a fabulously powerful games machine with a wide range of titles that look tremendous on a standard widescreen television and stunning on an HD-ready screen. Microsoft has now sold 6m units, so it’ll be a merry Christmas for Bill Gates.

The Xbox’s media playback features are impressive: it can connect wirelessly to a PC and will stream stored music, video or photos. Online gaming is super-smooth, too, though this service currently costs £40 a year. It’s simple to challenge a friend to play, and organising a group session can be done by text, voice or — with the optional new camera — video.

True, DVD playback is only standard definition, but Microsoft hopes to match the PS3’s Blu-ray movie playback with an optional £129 plug-in drive that converts the Xbox 360 into a HD-DVD player.

This makes the whole affair bulky. The 360 is fairly large and the external power supply is the size of a house brick. Worse, when playing games, its case fan is almost as noisy as a Chinook coming in to land.

That said, the machine has several big selling points. As it’s been on sale for a year, most of the launch-time bugs have been ironed out and a recent software update has added a few useful features. The line-up of games is now formidable, though many have focused on glossy graphics over innovative gameplay. This arsenal is set to grow, as Microsoft has been snapping up well-respected developers to feed it Xbox exclusives. Yes, the games are pricey — and only about half of standard Xbox games will play on the 360 — but the console itself isn’t exhorbitant, albeit that the range-topping version (with hard drive) is the one to go for.

PlayStation 3 will in theory be slightly the more powerful, but both consoles deliver breathtaking action. Bottom line? If you can’t wait for next-generation HD gaming and you can put up with the fan noise, buy a 360. Given time, and with its quieter, classier presence, the PS3 could still catch and overtake its Microsoft rival.

As for the Nintendo, it’s good but the one-time market leader may struggle to match the computing power and fast-paced graphics of its bigger rivals. Yet the quirky, innovative Wii could be a surprise hit among a new audience of gamers.