The highest price ($599) for any console since the early '90s Neo Geo, an underwhelming list of initial games, and unproven hi-def movie capabilities was a long way from the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. Those systems were almost always in the middle of price wars and the catalog of games had dominated the industry since the late '90s.

Sony has kept firing, however. Despite missteps, PS3 system updates have much improved the PS3 experience. Much better marketing, the victory over HD-DVD in the home-movie market, and of course, better games have improved, quietly, the industry's outlook on the system.

Last year, the publishing behemoth, Electronic Arts, took in just $13 million from PS3-related sales. This year, uh, how about $139 million? That is just crazy. Microsoft's Xbox 360 ran a distant second with $81 million for EA.

PS3 global sales have jumped to 1.56 million units over the last financial quarter, more than a 120 percent increase over this time last year and close to 260k more than the Xbox 360.

Sony's other electronic products are sagging, however, but that ain't my problem. I do games, not $2,500 TVs (yet) or whack mp3 players.

Of course, Nintendo is laughing at everyone else's bank account (they sold 5.2 million Wiis over the same quarter as the PS3), but suffice it to say, "it's on" now. All three consoles are firmly established and now we move on to the best part of a generation of gaming.

Which console maker can provide the best developer tools for its system? Which consoles do developers choose for their best games? And which system's titles will cause gamers to eat ramen noodles for weeks just to be able to buy and play them?

We talkin' about tactics

State legislatures have been trying to figure how to legislate game sales for years, and almost every time, whatever they pass gets beaten back into pulp on appeal. Yet, they keep trying.

Last week, New York's new governor, David Paterson, signed a bill into law that is a bit more sneaky than previous attempts. The law mandates parental controls on every system, commissions a study on the relationship of video games and violence, and bolsters an enforcement of game ratings.

A couple of things are wrong here. First, the study won't be done by an independent body. It will be handled by the state, so the bias is inherent. Second, the law doesn't even come into effect till 2010!

What does that mean? That means this is a political ploy that is played on whoever has these game-violence concerns on their front burner.

How many people is that again? Two? Three?

The game ratings enforcement? The one that says retailers must disclose ratings decided by the industry's rating system, The Entertainment Software Rating Board? Uh, those are already on the box and any penalties for retailers under similar laws in other states have consistently been ruled unconstitutional.

So now, instead of trying to pass something that makes sense, New York is passing a law that means next to nothing, uses state funds (are they already predicting massive state budget deficits in New York?) for bogus studies, and will be forgotten about by 2010, anyway.

Unfortunately, when it comes to games, any video-game group that wants reasonable game laws passed is getting played.