Nintendo, Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox take aim at gamers this Christmas with fresh titles

New consoles, fresh accessories and more games than you could play in one holiday break: gamers are being wooed in a serious way this Christmas.

Sony Computer Entertainment Australia and New Zealand managing director Michael Ephraim.

IN the space of a week, Nintendo will have launched two fresh games consoles in Australia, a new Pokemon series, a much-anticipated Super Smash Bros title, and a range of interactive figurines.

It represents a busy week, by any measure, but one that has become familiar to gaming fans in the lead-up to Christmas.

And it’s not just Nintendo, but Sony, Microsoft and most big-name game developers which will be fighting for your attention until December 25.

While last year saw next-generation games consoles bid for your dollars, this year will see Sony and Microsoft focus on software for those machines, and new ways to play games involving phones and remote game streaming.

Nintendo should steal more attention in the market this Christmas with its bumper line-up that includes the launch of its New 3DS and New 3DS XL consoles in Australia before Europe and the United States.

The portable games machines most notably feature a 3D upgrade, using the machine’s front-facing camera to track the player’s eyes and deliver 3D from more angles.

They will be joined by Super Smash Bros for 3DS and Wii U on Friday, as well as Amiibo figurines that connect to the Wii U controller with a touch, and can be used to interact with some games.

Sony, meanwhile, is launching what it calls a “micro console” in PlayStation TV.

It’s a small black box that connects to a PlayStation 4 console and a home wi-fi network, and it lets users stream game content to another television in the house.

“If you get kicked off the TV in the lounge, you can continue playing on the PlayStation TV in another room,” Sony Computer Entertainment Australia managing director Michael Ephraim explains.

“It will also let you play games from the PS Vita and the PlayStation One.”

But the $149.95 gadget is not the only PlayStation addition this year.

Sony has also released a Remote Play feature to its Xperia phones and tablets that allows them to display games and control them with the PS4’s DualShock4 Wireless Controller, while karaoke game SingStar now offers a SingStar Mic app that can turn an Apple iPhone or Google Android handset into a microphone.

Microsoft, meanwhile, has this month added ABC iView to its TV-streaming offerings, and is focusing on games.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is designed to lure in old-school Xbox fans, coming more than 13 years after the blockbuster alien series landed, and offering next-generation graphics.

Microsoft is not due to launch the Halo 5 until next year, though the company will open access to Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer after the Christmas rush on December 29.

Other big-name titles expected to win attention this year run the gamut from big-game shootouts to cuddly and cute.

Sackboy will return in LittleBigPlanet 3, Just Dance 2015 will offer 40 new hip-shaking tracks, role-playing game Assassin’s Creed Unity will tackle the French Revolution, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare brings a realistic Kevin Spacey to the games world, and Grand Theft Auto 5 will bring next-generation graphics and first-person mode to the lawless streets of Los Santos and Blaine County.

Originally published as Nintendo, Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox take aim at gamers this Christmas with fresh titles