Who will win?

Xbox, PS3 and Wii duke it out

Sony kept pace with its video game offerings with its popular PlayStation series. The PlayStation 2 was released in 2000. In 2006 it introduced the PlayStation 3.

The Xbox was introduced in 2001 with the current Xbox 360 coming out in 2005. Nintendo released its Wii in 2005.

The current generation of video game systems offer a variety of features that were not even twinkle in the Odyssey creators' eyes in 1972.

The systems can bring gamers together online; display graphics in high definition; and even allow control of the games with wireless controllers, motion controllers or no controller at all.

But the machines are so much more than gaming devices. They allow you to surf the Web, chat with friends, play high-definition movies and even store your music library and watch photo slideshows.

When is smaller actually bigger?

Gameboys and PSPs

The game systems that plug into your living room TV aren't the only systems that have evolved over the past few decades.

In the late 1970s, handheld video games were simple gadgets involving flashing lights and annoying beeping noises. It wasn't until 1989 when Nintendo introduced its Gameboy that the console became portable, and now there are gadgets that would make James Bond drool with envy.

The Gameboy was a cartridge-based system that allowed you to pop games in and out and play on the go. The Gameboy remained king of the handhelds, offering different permutations (color, a larger screen, and more power), until Sony came out with its PlayStation Portable (PSP) in 2005.

Nintendo has even taken it to a whole new dimension with its Nintendo 3DS, offering glasses-free 3D gaming and media.

Sony and Nintendo found themselves back to their old rivalry -- but this time with handheld systems rather than living room consoles. And as smart phones and iPods came into more prominence, there seems to be a system for everyone.

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