Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo will launch new campaigns in the game console wars next week, with the main weapons this time involving online gaming and price cuts. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, the game industry's main trade show, kicks off May 22 in Los Angeles. Games are the premier attraction at E3, with publishers showing off every title they plan to release during the coming year. Highlights this year range from previews of potential blockbusters such as "Doom III" to a video jigsaw puzzle featuring Penthouse's Miss April.
But hardware manufacturers will make their dent before the show starts, including several days of press events intended to set up business strategies for the coming year. Sony got the ball rolling Tuesday by cutting the U.S. price of its PlayStation 2 game console by one-third and dropping the price of its older PlayStation One by 50 percent. Effective immediately, the PS2 costs $199, down from $299, while the PSX now sells for $49, down from $99.
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