Game consoles are encroaching on PC territory, says Mark Claypool, associate professor in the computer science department at Wooster Polytechnic Institute. "now they have hard drives, main memory, a programmable processor, a big graphics card, and networking." While game consoles aren't upgraded as often as PCs are--the last upgrades were four and five years ago--the most recent upgrades share the common denominator of "more": more power, better graphics, and more connections with other players. Last year's releases from the big three in gaming consoles - Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii, and Sony's PlayStation 3-represent an evolution in both technology and purpose, expanding game play and its applications.