24. The Gaming Consoles

Microsoft
Title: XBox360
Age: 1 year

Sony
Title: PlayStation 3
Age: Pre-natal

Nintendo
Title: Wii
Age: Pre-natal

Why them? Scared yet? No? Fair enough, but maybe you should be a bit concerned. After all, the next-generation gaming consoles are out for living-room domination (those old-school cable set-tops be damned!). Microsoft’s XBox360 hasn’t lit the world on fire with its WiFi prowess (partly because so few people have ponied up for Media Center PCs designed to work with the XBox360). But that could change this year when Microsoft releases Windows Vista and packages its home-networking friendly Media Center platform with every Vista PC. And how about those recently announced pacts with MTVN, CBS, TBS and others to provide Xbox360 users with TV and film content available for download (to rent or own)? Microsoft still covets the living room, folks. In addition, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii now sport or will add home networking features, and they may eventually ink content deals themselves. With Internet video so prevalent (and the Google-YouTube deal opening up even more possibilities), you have to wonder when those tech-savvy kids are going to bypass cable for streaming video straight into gaming consoles and onto TV screens. Keep an eye on these consoles. They’re a sneaky bunch. - MG

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