I don't want the blog to dry up and die despite the demands of the show, so I have posted below my impressions of the big three press conferences.

To give some context, I have no bias towards or against any of the three. I am going to determine which of the next-gen systems I am going to get based on how well they convince me in the next few months. So, from the perspective of a potential buyer here are my thoughts:

Sony
The Sony conference was pretty boring off the bat. SingStar and the card game were a bit interesting, but only from an intellectual standpoint. I would probably use neither if I got a PS3. The demos looked decent. Heavenly Blade definitely caught my eye, but I wonder how much fun the game is going to be once you get over the cool animations. I am not a HUGE Metal Gear Solid fan, but the trailers have all looked really good for MGS4. I suppose the gyroscopic controller could be nice in some games, but I fear that some developers might try to force in the functionality at the expense of gameplay. The price is high, as expected. I am not convinced that the graphics on the PS3 will be substantially better than X360 when it launches. Remember the developers will have had access to the X360 for an extra year, and graphics improve over the life of a system. My TV does 1080i, but is is really a 720p rig, so the extra resolution is not really a selling point. PSP integration is cool but I don't have one so again, no selling point there. Too much pre-rendered stuff. Is it really going to be able to match X360 head-to-head in just a few months? I have a lot of questions about how well their online suite will work compared to Xbox which has been doing a unified service for years already.
Summary: I have not seen anything that blew me off my feet. Unlikely that I would be an early adopter. Probably wait for developers to really nail the PS3's capabilities and for the price to drop. I think Sony failed to make a great case for not getting an X360 now.

Microsoft
Microsoft had probably the hardest seat as their console has already been on the market for awhile. Demos looked good. The integration with Windows Vista and mobiles was neat, but I don't know how much I would actually take advantage of it. HD-DVD player was not a selling point for me as the technology is not prevalent enough yet. Overall, I think the Microsoft did a pretty good job of turning the tables on it's disadvantage going in. They showed that they they have been doing a good job with the Xbox Live and showed the promise of more titles to come.
Conclusion: I think they did what they could to show that the next generation is here and there is a lot to look forward to. It looked even better against the sketchy details that Sony could provide. Overall, I think I am a price drop away from getting a X360. If they knock $100 off of it around Sony's launch it would be hard to find a reason no go for the PS3 instead (at least until Resident Evil 5 or Fallout 3 were announced as a PS3 exclusive).

Nintendo
Nothing too surprising here. They have convinced me that the controller can be a legitimate input device. The graphics are not as pretty as the other consoles, but could be good enough for most types of games. I could definitely see using the console being a lot of fun. I don't know that it would be able to satisfy my needs as a primary gaming system. Certainly some games light Twilight princess could provide many hours of entertainment, but others like the tennis game I see not holding my attention for a long time. I think they could have a much stronger showing by talking more about the back catalog stuff. I am not as worried about games holding my attention is I can download classics off the internet without leaving the house at a reasonable price. If he showed the menu where he went online, bought River City Ransom for $1.99 and started playing it ten seconds later, that would have had a powerful effect on me. Yes, I can download the ROM, but I am willing to pay some money for well-polished controller integration and any sort of extra features that come along with it.
Conclusion: Certainly is sacrificing a lot when compared to the other next-gen systems. Looks fun, but at the same time gimmicky (doh! I thought the same about the DS at first!) The big thing that it has going for it is the price. It is not mutually exclusive with getting one of the other systems (I am not getting a 360 AND PS3 anytime soon). If the back catalog is well-implemented and set at a reasonable price point I definitely see the Wii as a Friday afternoon impulse buy.