And so begins a new year for the gaming industry, a chance for each company to look back on the successes and failures of 2007 while making plans for total industry domination in 2008. As gamers, it means that the first full calendar year in with all five current consoles is behind us, making head-to-head comparisons a bit more fair. No more "but the Wii/PS3 have only been out for a few months" excuses.

Over the next few days, I'm going to talk about the state of the Big Three console manufacturers-Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. Each of them has something to be proud of over the past twelve months. They all have some shortcomings. I'll talk about that in more detail in the coming days. But what impresses me about this generation thus far is the parity that has been achieved by the Big Three.

In the last generation, Sony was the undisputed king on consoles, and before that Nintendo wore the crown. Many wondered whether the market would even support three companies for years at a time. And yet here we are with a balance between them that, while not completely steady, could hold for a while.

This is partly because the market has segmented somewhat, without all three companies going after essentially the same gamer as was characteristic of the last generation. Nintendo best exemplifies this trend, choosing to make a less costly console with a control scheme that appeals to the masses. Sony pulled out all the stops to make the PS3 your do-it-all box, while Microsoft continues to integrate the XBOX 360 with other parts of your digital life. It makes for a very interesting dynamic between the three, and though it means that there are weaknesses in everyone's strategy, it also means that there's some legitimate choice for the first time in a while.

So while each company tries to find ways to increase its customer base and/or market share in 2008, I'll start out by taking a look at where they all stand now. That might give us some insight into what plans they have for the near future. Or it might just start a flame war. Who knows.