But the battle to lead the next generation is a never-ending one in the gaming industry. And while none of the major console manufacturers wants to talk specifics, developers in the know say Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are already hard at work putting together their next systems.

Game machines typically are on the shelves for five or six years before a console manufacturer rolls out the next one. With the expense and success of this crop of systems–which have been out two to three years–it could be closer to eight years before we see the PlayStation 4, Xbox 720 and Nintendo “Us”–or whatever they end up being called.

“One of the things I like about this generation is we are still very early and there’s still a lot of room for growth … as we move down those price curves,” says Brian Farrell, CEO of THQ . “Those engines have a lot of steam left in them. We think it could be seven or eight years before new machines start to roll out.”

Epic Games, maker of the hit “Gears of War” series, agrees. President Mike Capps recently said the company estimates new systems will not hit shelves until somewhere between 2012 and 2018.

Both hardware and software manufacturers are already gearing up. Work on Epic’s “Unreal Engine 4,” a graphics engine for next-gen games, has been under way for almost two years now under the guidance of founder Tim Sweeney. “It’s not like there’s anything to show today,” notes Epic Vice President Mark Rein.

Microsoft Game Studios and Epic Games Inc. today confirmed that “Gears of War,” the Xbox 360-exclusive title, has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide since its release six weeks ago.

““Gears of War” clearly has won the battle for the title of the must-have game of the year,” said Richard Teversham, Director of Platform & Marketing, Home and Entertainment Division EMEA. “Its phenomenal success is one of many reasons why Xbox 360 is the ultimate place to get together with friends to play this Christmas.”

“We’ve always held high hopes for ‘Gears of War,’ but we never expected such an overwhelmingly positive response from critics and gamers all over the world,” said Michael Capps, president, Epic Games. “I can’t describe how stoked our team is right now. Our fans can absolutely count on Epic to keep delivering new gameplay through Xbox Live.”

In addition to being the must-have video game of the holiday season, “Gears of War” continues to rage on the Xbox Live battlefield as well, with more than 1 million unique gamers engaging in 10 million online gameplay sessions and unlocking an impressive 7 million achievements. On top of being the No. 1 title on Xbox Live, “Gears of War” has driven new members to the network; paid registrations per day have skyrocketed more than 50 percent since the game’s launch.

“Gears of War”

More than 80 publications around the world have crowned “Gears of War” the best next-generation game of the year. At the recent Spike TV Video Game Awards that aired Wednesday evening, the next-gen-defining title garnered four awards, for Best Multiplayer Game, Best Shooter, Studio of the Year (for Epic Games) and Best Graphics.

There are a few constants in life—death, taxes, and perhaps we can add the annual release of a new Star Wars game to that list. And there’s a good reason for it: George Lucas’ epic space opera has a tremendous worldwide following and is set in a universe conducive to all sorts of videogames. So when the first Lego Star Wars game became a hit, with over 3 million copies sold, it came as no surprise that a sequel was announced.

The first game, actually published by Eidos, was more of a hit than anyone expected. The lighthearted humor, the simple and fun gameplay, and the large amount of replayability gave it a widespread appeal. When LucasArts reclaimed the publishing duties, they hoped the same magic would work again, this time with the beloved original trilogy of Star Wars.

We talked with Ilkay Can, Product Marketing Manager at LucasArts, about why the Force is with Lego Star Wars II.

I’ll give my guy Darth Vader’s head…

Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy had four different SKUs on NPD’s Top 20 games for September. The Xbox 360 version was third best selling on that system, and the PS2 and Xbox versions would have been the best selling titles on their respective platforms had it not been for EA’s Madden 07.

The GameCube version was far and away that system’s top selling title of the month. With success like that across SKUs, it’s no wonder LucasArts reported that over 1.1 million copies of the game had been sold across all platforms less than two weeks after the game’s September 12th release.

He points out all the great things about this game and also the things it lacks.

Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time is a followup of a very successful game that had delighted gamers all over the world with it’s fantasy worlds and characters.

It is a good play, allowing the player to learn interesting things about a civilization that is no longer found today.

The game is availabler for PC, PlayStation2, Xbox and GameCube.

World Cyber Games becomes more and more popular as the 25 billion worth video games industry is becoming more and more appealing to the public.

Curently priced at $149, PlayStation 2 is the best sold console in history, being followed by far by its competitors Xbox and GameCube. Analists say that Sony could reduce the price to $129 or even to $99.

This move would help them focus on the new PlayStation 3, while still owning the market.

Nathan the proof that not only children play with LEGO.

His latest creations are two huge sculptures of Play Station 3 and Xbox 360 controllers. He deserves a medal for these.

The past works are also amazing. His LEGO computer was featured on the March 7th issue of PC Magazine. Not bad.

The Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge left me speechless.

Fantastic guy!

They’ve mentioned that it is compatible with all important consoles such as Sony Playstation, Xbox, and Game Cube and others, so parents will not be forced to purchase a new console for their young gamers.

The game follows the basic plotline of the Star Wars movies. All the important characters are present, Darth Vader, Luke, Han Solo and Princess Leia, with an obvious comic cartoon twist on them.