Game consoles' latest epic battle

Brace yourselves, holiday shoppers, the next wave of game console wars hits the US this weekend. Nintendo's new Wii console goes on sale here Sunday. Microsoft's Xbox 360 gained its beachhead a year ago. The PS3 launches in the US this Friday and sold out in Japan over the weekend, the BBC reports (it doesn't hit European stores till next spring). Some of the 8,000 older PlayStation games aren't working perfectly on the PS3, the Associated Press reports (mostly sound and image issues). "Users can punch in the name of the PS or PS2 game on the Web page, and a list will pop up, telling you if the game can be played without problems or not. As for Nintendo's console, with which the company is more than ever focused on the family market, the Seattle Times reports that "the $250 Wii is expected to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, must-have toys of the season." Nintendo will have "only 4 million units to sell worldwide. Even if it sells out, future competition will be brutal against Microsoft and its year-old Xbox 360 and Sony and its PlayStation 3," the Seattle Times adds. Meanwhile, here are fresh, rated game reviews at the Detroit Free Press, including one for the very controversial "Bully" from Rockstar Games (the Free Press says "those overly concerned should not be about this game"), and here's an in-depth review of Bully (for PS2) at the University Daily Kansan.