The battle among video-game machines

PREPARE for a new slugfest among video-game consoles. On November 22nd Microsoft begins selling its Xbox One, a week after Sony released its PS4—and claimed 1m units sold on the first day. Gaming fans have long wondered if this might not be the last hurrah for high-end consoles for the home, following the popularity of simpler, family-friendly machines like Nintendo’s Wii, and lower-tech gaming on smartphones and tablets. When Sony’s PS2 was released unopposed in 2000, it became the biggest selling home-console ever, helped by a fleet of fun games. The paucity of popular games has hurt sales of Wii U, introduced last November. IHS, a market-research firm, expects PS4 and Xbox One to outsell it, with Sony’s machine to post the highest score. Yet sales of Xbox 360 and PS3 peaked six years after slow starts—so there is still plenty to play for.