Let the revolution begin!

Yes, there's a revolution—or evolution—in gaming. And while the transition from last-generation to next generation takes place, game sales may be off for awhile. But nothing is slowing down in the game department. Nintendo's Wii (which at E3 last month had a line of eager testers wrapped around the Nintendo booth), PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Xbox 360 will all have games to complement their revolutionary features. And most game makers at E3 agreed that getting back to basics is what's most important. Perhaps it will be an easier feat with these new consoles. The basics are simple: Games have to be fun again!

Whether for the hardcore gamer who plays 10 hours per day or for someone who hasn't played in ages, next-gen games are appealing to the masses with releases in 2006 and beyond. And while some game developers will not leave Hollywood behind, there's solid effort among publishers to produce more original games for players, a change from the last few years when “slapping a game on a movie” was a term heard often at E3.

While no one can expect Buena Vista Games, Burbank, Calif., to exit the movie tie-in game arena anytime soon—it's on track with the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean video game for hand-held systems Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance (GBA) and PlayStation Portable (PSP) this month, before the release of the movie on July 7—the highlight of their planned game releases this year will be their first original game title, Spectrobes.

In an archaeological expedition, players are interplanetary officers who work with prehistoric creatures named Spectrobes to defeat an evil nemesis known only as Krawl. The game, a Nintendo DS exclusive, lets players excavate and then train as many Spectrobes as they can find to defend the galaxy. The excavations are fun for beginning players, but the game also offers 20 to 30 hours of game play for more serious “archaeologists.” The shipping date is still in flux—either this holiday season or early 2007. A Desperate Housewives game for PC and a Mature-rated Turok are also in the mix this year from BVG.

Another handheld game for casual play is Hot PXL, an original from Atari, New York. The game, which will be released for the holiday season, features more than 200 mini games that last 5 to 10 seconds each.

Konami's next installment of its Castlevania fanchise, Portrait of Ruin—also a Nintendo DS exclusive—has a list of notable features: more 3-D graphics, a dual-player game mode and a World War II setting. The game will not be released until fall 2007 but it will be one of the titles used to celebrate the vampire-hunting game series' 20th anniversary this year.

For those companies sticking to licensed releases, Ubisoft has developed the Open Season game for the Disney movie of the same name. It will be released for all platforms this September.

Ubisoft makes the first role-playing game exclusively for Xbox 360, Enchanted Arms—already a top seller in Japan. The game offers more than 50 hours of play and more than 75 controllable creatures.

“We're not leaving Hollywood behind,” says Ubisoft's Pascal Bonnet, director, U.S. licensing. “Our goal is to have 25 percent of our sales from licenses.”

Speaking of licenses, Warner Bros. Entertainment has several fall releases for the Pixar film Happy Feet and The Ant Bully from Midway Games as well as new games for DC Comics fans: Justice League Heroes by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Superman Returns from Electronic Arts.

Vivendi Games, Los Angeles, is also releasing the much-hyped Scarface: The World is Yours this fall for PS2, Xbox and PC. Vivendi will also issue games for the upcoming remake of Miami Vice this summer and for Eragon, the movie based on the Christopher Paolini-penned fantasy novel, this fall.

As E3 shows, there's something for everyone. And once gamers become part of the new revolution in gaming, video games sales are expected to jump higher than they ever have before. According to the Entertainment Software Association, Washington, video game sales for consoles, PCs, mobile and online will hit the $15 billion mark by 2010, twice as much as the $8.2 billion in sales tallied during 2004.

Vive la revolution!