NO PLAYING AROUND: Riding high on a $48-billion-a-year (worldwide) business that reputedly exceeds movie box office grosses, music and DVDs sales, the video game industry rolled out hundreds of new products at its annual E3 game convention last week in Los Angeles.

Let's explore some of the big trends.

MONOPOLIZING THE LIVING ROOM: A Microsoft executive suggested that the Xbox 360 will soon be the (broadband connected) set-top box entertainment seekers turn on first, rather than their cable or satellite TV boxes.

Similar notions were also proffered from the Sony camp for PlayStation 3.

Xbox 360 lures include a newly revamped Xbox Live service, coming this fall, that will bolster users' sense of participatory community with stand-in virtual characters (avatars) and enhanced interactive experiences like Xbox Live Primetime.

That's a new channel for virtual game shows like "1 vs. 100," which you'll be able to play with other Xboxers for real prizes.

Here's another reason to flick on the Xbox 360 first:

If you're a subscriber to both Netflix and Xbox Live Gold, you'll soon have instant access to more than 10,000 movies and TV shows from the Netflix library at no additional cost.

There also will be a way to sync up and share that viewing experience with other similarly set-up Xbox 360 owners, even chatting during the movies, if you like.

Sony again previewed its new, all-embracing, PS3 online starting point PlayStation Home, still in preliminary beta testing stage but "well worth the wait," vowed exec Jack Tretton.

Home promises even more realistic avatar stand-ins than Microsoft's, plus places to go and things to do - from playing (virtual) pool to shopping for Nike wear with online friends.

Social networking and game play likewise come together in Sony's much-anticipated "Little Big Planet," arriving in October, where participants can also design and share content.

Likewise very attuned to the moment are the forthcoming PS3, Xbox 360 and PC versions of Electronic Arts' "NBA Live 09." Here, game-player characteristics - "Dynamic DNA" - will be updated on a daily basis, depending on how the real players portrayed in the game performed on the court the previous night.

Another reason to click on PS3 first: its' just-launched online store, where you can rent or buy downloadable, standard- and high-definition movies and TV shows.

Yeah, Xbox Live has been doing this for a spell, but Sony's downloads are the first you can move off the console to other devices - a PlayStation Portable and a PC.

(Caution: HD movies take up lots of hard-drive space. So if you're thinking of buying a PS3, wait until September, when an 80GB-hard-drive model will go on sale for the same $399.99 price now being asked for the expiring, 40GB machine. And if you're thinking of buying an Xbox 360, avoid the newly discounted - to $299 - 20GB version, likewise on its way out. A 60GB model is coming in a few weeks at $349.)

LOTS MORE FAMILY FUN: Nintendo ticked off the hardcore gaming community by focusing almost entirely on casual gaming introductions at E3 (the notable exceptions being a new "Call of Duty" for Wii and a customized, DS portable version of "Grand Theft Auto").

But the Wii system has just overtaken Xbox 360 as the U.S.'s most popular "new generation" video game system. And the female share of users is almost 50 percent, amazing in this traditionally male-dominated industry. So whatever Nintendo's doing right, it's going to keep doing it.

One apt case in point - Wii Music - a much easier way to make music than you'll find in "Guitar Hero" or "Rock Band," with no extra peripherals to buy and zero competition factor.

You just tap or wave the Wii remote, Nunchuck and Balance Board, and the game automatically converts each motion to a proper note or beat befitting the instrument you've selected (from 50 choices) and the tune being played by the game console and other participants.

Another hot non-game game for Wii, "Animal Crossing - CityFolk," is a virtual town where the mantra is "do things your way."

Electronic Arts is jumping on the Wii bandwagon with a user-friendly "All-Play" line of games like "Madden NFL 09 All Play" and "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09." The titles are much easier for inexperienced gamers to master.

While still pushing the blast-'em-away action genre hardest, Xbox 360 will work the family-friendly angle with "You're in the Movies," which puts your face and antics into short movies, with the super-snazzy "Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts" and with a karaoke-style game, "Lips."

Aiming to steal thunder from Sony's expanding "SingStar" series for the PlayStation, "Lips" lets you croon along with music from your own collection (on an iPod or Zune) and bang the wireless microphone like a tambourine.

SLICKER PERIPHERALS: Logitech's Driving Force Wireless Wheel for the PS3 ($99, available in August) features a steering wheel nicer than those found in many cars, with realistic force-feedback technology and a unique, expandable lap rest that frees the player from a fixed, table-top location.

It's a perfect match for "Grand Turismo 5 Prologue," also to be enhanced next month with free access to PlayStation Network car shows grouped as the "Grand Turismo TV" channel.

Timed to the release of "Rock Band 2" (appearing first on Xbox 360 in September), Mad Catz will deliver "premium" grade instruments priced as high as $200 for full-size, limited-edition Stratocaster guitar and Precision bass controllers.

Responding to complaints that the Wii remote is a blunt sword, Nintento will offer the plug-on Wii MotionPlus accessory, which tracks arm and wrist movements much more accurately. Look for it first next year, bundled with "Wii Sports Resort." *

E-mail Jonathan Takiff at

takiffj@phillynews.com.