The Wait Is Over! Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii To Launch This Weekend

This is the week die-hard video game aficionados have been waiting for all year.

Within a 48 hour time span, both Sony and Nintendo are going to launch their heavy hitters in the next generation console war.

First up is Sony's PlayStation 3, which will debut at the first strike of midnight on November 17th. Unfortunately, most of us probably won't be walking away with a system, as only 400,000 units are set to ship to North America for the big launch day. Even those who preordered a PS3 aren't guaranteed to get one come the 17th.

Two days later, on November 19th, Nintendo will officially enter the battle with the Wii. Nintendo is promising a bigger supply, but there's no way to predict how lucky early adopters will be on day one. However, the Big N is promising more Wii systems by the end of the year. 4 million Wii units are promised to be available worldwide by the end of the year -- a huge increase from Sony's meager estimates of only 2 to 2.4 million PS3s. (Source: gamespot.com)

The PS3 could be especially hard to come by. As of a week ago, people were already lining up at a Best Buy in Burbank, California. (Source: cheapassgamer.com)

If you're one of those crazy campers, you're obviously going to want some games to go along with your shiny new purchase.

PS3's reported launch game lineup:

• Call of Duty 3
   
• Genji: Days of the Blade
   
• Madden NFL 07 (PS3)
   
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
   
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire
   
• NBA 07
   
• NBA 2K7
   
• Need for Speed Carbon
   
• NHL 2K7
   
• Resistance: Fall of Man
   
• Ridge Racer 7
   
• Sonic the Hedgehog
   
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
   
• Tony Hawk's Project 8
   
• Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom

Wii's reported launch game lineup:

• Avatar: The Last Airbender
   
• Call of Duty 3
   
• Cars
   
• Excite Truck
   
• GT Pro Series
   
• Madden NFL 07
   
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
   
• Monster 4X4: World Circuit
   
• Need for Speed: Carbon
   
• Rampage: Total Destruction
   
• Rapala Tournament Fishing
   
• Rayman Raving Rabbids
   
• Red Steel
   
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
   
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
   
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent
   
• Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
   
• Trauma Center: Second Opinion
   
• Wii Channels
   
• Wii Sports
   
• World Series of Poker (Source: gamespot.com)

If you manage to snag your system of choice this week, there's certainly no shortage of games available to satisfy any and all tastes.

Good luck!