The 
countdown is on for the launches of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but the next generation won’t be cheap. The PlayStation 4 carries a price tag of $400, while the Xbox One is $500 — and that’s not including extra controllers, subscription fees and, oh yeah, the games.
The good news? Those systems sitting in your entertainment center can help you bridge the financial gap. But they may not get you quite as far as you were hoping.
The 
next generation consoles won’t be out for another five months – but a price war is already brewing.
Sony announced a $399 price point for the PlayStation 4 at a pre-E3 press conference, $100 cheaper than Microsoft’s Xbox One.
It’s 
been three years since Gran Turismo last revved its engine – but it’s finally ready to pull up to the starting line once again.
The hit driving franchise will release its latest installment – Gran Turismo 6 – later this year, Sony and developer Polyphony Digital announced today. Even better, players will be able to get a taste this July, with a playable demo.
The 
transition of videogame consoles into something more than just game machines started in 2000. Sony, in one of its most prescient moves, included a DVD player in the PlayStation 2 — at a time when the technology was still relatively new and expensive. And consumers couldn’t buy the system fast enough.
The speed of consoles’ evolution has increased dramatically in this generation, and the dawn (and explosion) of streaming media has been a large part of that. As Nintendo launches its next generation system — and Microsoft and Sony prepare for theirs, non-gaming elements are shaping up to be a critical part of the landscape.
Sony 
is putting its flagship video game system on a crash diet.
Confirming months of speculation, the company unveiled a redesigned PlayStation 3 at its pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference Wednesday.
The 
length of this console life cycle continues to haunt Sony. The company saw a wider loss in its fiscal first quarter with poor PlayStation sales dragging the numbers down.
The games unit saw a notable decline in sales last quarter (from April 1 to June 30), selling 800,000 fewer hardware units and coming in at an operating loss of $45 million. Software sales were down as well. It was a discouraging performance for the division Sony is hoping will help guide the company out of its financial woes.
While 
everyone and their cousin is waiting eagerly for the PlayStation 4, Sony may still have a few ideas up its sleeve for the PlayStation 3.
A recent filing on the FCC database describes what appears to be a new design for the console — and, at the very least, a prototype has already been built.
J.K. 
Rowling is about to cast a spell on PlayStation owners.
The author of the “Harry Potter” series and Sony on Monday announced a collaboration that includes new stories from the wizarding world she created that will be brought to live on the PlayStation 3.
The Wii, 
Xbox 360 and PS3 have done well for themselves, as over half of all U.S. households own a modern video game console. That also means, however, that a good chunk of the country still isn’t playing along.
With whispers of next-generation systems swirling — and one confirmed to launch later this year — deciding whether to buy a current generation system isn’t an easy one. Should you spend the money now, or should you wait and be a part of the cutting-edge in the months to come? Systems have typically hit the sweet spot in pricing, and there’s a tremendous catalog of games to choose from (many at discount prices, thanks to “Platinum editions” of top-selling games).
Kids, 
take note: Your parents do have the right to discipline you.
One tyke in the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego decided to test this rule when he was upset with his mother’s decision to take away his PlayStation 3. So upset, in fact, that he called 911 to get it straightened out.
Chris Morris: Journalist 