Updates at the ready…

One of the key differences between this generation of console hardware and the last is that this time around, network connectivity is assumed to be the rule, rather than the exception.

Although no reliable statistics exist to show just how many of the new systems are online, the prevailing attitude to connected consoles is a complete reversal of the last generation - when even the Xbox (whose Live service was a key selling point) couldn't get more than about a tenth of its userbase online.

The key impetus for this online activity, however, is not online gaming. Although playing online is a pastime which continues to grow its audience, Microsoft's continuing refusal to reveal the number of Xbox Live users who subscribe to the Gold service (required for playing games) speaks volumes.

What's driving console users to hook up their consoles to the network, then, is something quite different. The social aspect has some bearing on it, of course - even those who don't actively play online may well be interested in messaging, chat, and even comparing achievements and scores. Even more important, however, is the role of the network in distributing content.

Industry commentators have long expected that the arrival of connected consoles would be followed by a boom in digitally distributed content, and this has indeed happened. Demos and trailers have shifted from cover-mount positions on magazines to free online downloads - although this month's decision to allow US magazine OXM to charge users for downloading "covermount" demos from Xbox Live does set a worrying and deeply unhealthy precedent in this area.

Other forms of content, too, have made successful starts with online distribution on consoles. Arcade and retro games on the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Store and Wii Virtual Console services have proved successful, and Microsoft has also enjoyed some success with distributing movies and TV episodes to Xbox 360 users over the network.

That latter feature, however, leads nicely to the final type of online content which has turned out to be hugely important to the new systems - software updates.

One largely unanticipated effect of turning consoles into network devices is that it also turns them into evolving platforms - systems whose functionality can be upgraded and improved through a simple, automated download process. All three systems have the ability to be upgraded over the network, and this has turned out to be a surprisingly important part of the console "war".

Microsoft, for example, has found that it can enhance the Xbox 360's video output - adding limited support for 1080p resolutions - and give its users the ability to download content in the background, watch a wider range of video files and even purchase video from an online service.

Sony has been even busier, and successive firmware upgrades for the PS3 since its launch have vastly improved the system's functionality. Full upscaling and smoothing of PSone and PS2 titles is the headline feature here, but the console's newfound interaction with its handheld cousin, the PSP, and its ability to stream video from other systems on your network are also well-regarded.

Even Nintendo, whose online interactions still feel distinctly more like a toe in the water when compared to the efforts of Sony and Microsoft, has upgraded the Wii system software - adding services such as news and weather to its front-page, although users would be justified in feeling that the console's somewhat ambitious scrolling page of "channels" still looks terribly empty.

These updates are a major element of the new generation of systems. They are, in effect, a promise that the hardware which you purchase today will be even better tomorrow. Each piece of additional functionality is a further impetus to drive new purchases, and to encourage existing customers to feel good about their investment.

Looking forward, however, it's clear that there may be a somewhat divergent approach to updates from the three console manufacturers.

Sony has arguably been the most pro-active company in terms of shipping out upgrades, not only for the PS3 but also for the PSP - whose system software is also vastly more functional now than it was then the console launched. Further down the line, it seems clear that Sony plans to continue upgrading the system software - but the firm isn't shy of introducing new hardware and add-ons as part of that upgrade process.

This week's announcement that New Zealand is to receive a peripheral which will allow the PS3 to decode, view, record and play back Freeview television broadcasts is a perfect example. By essentially giving the PS3 the functions of a hard drive video recorder, the firm is sending a clear message; now there's yet another box underneath your television which the PS3 can replace perfectly effectively.

It seems almost certain that this peripheral will make it to Europe (we're less certain about the PSP's recently announced TV functionality, which is currently earmarked as Japan-only), and it may even offer a clear new hardware SKU strategy for SCEE. A high-end PS3 bundle with a much larger hard drive (120GB perhaps, or even 200GB) and a Freeview tuner could easily command a premium price point, allowing the existing model to be dropped in price without losing any of the console's "luxury" status at retail.

Nintendo's approach is rather different - and, if anything, is even more focused on hardware. The clearest indication of the firm's intention to continue upgrading the Wii platform came in the form of Wii Fit, the balance-board controller and associated game which was announced at E3 last month.

Wii Fit represents an alternative approach to functionality upgrades, and one which may sit better with the mass-market audience Nintendo is securing for the Wii. The firm clearly remains confident in the Wiimote controller - and rightly so - but Wii Fit makes it apparent that the Wii console itself is seen as a base unit for a wider range of user-friendly control interfaces.

Equally, it represents a willingness to build entirely new USPs into the Wii proposition, which is arguably the most pure definition of an evolving platform. The Wii message until now has focused on fun; Wii Fit will give a whole new aspect to the system, centered on health and fitness. It seems to be here, and not on online system software updates, that Nintendo's attention is focused.

Microsoft, finally, represents something of a dark horse in this category. Strangely for a company whose core business is software, it has arguably been less proactive than Sony in software updates for the Xbox 360, focusing its efforts on a few major updates each year.

Several key new features have been added - but we have little indication of what the company's feature road-map looks like, or whether it believes in system functionality updates as an important part of the Xbox 360 offering going forward.

This picture may be somewhat clouded by the firm's current headache over basic hardware reliability, which shows little sign of dissipating despite its commitment to extending its warranty to three years, at vast cost to itself.

Until the present hardware is stable and reliable, it's unlikely that much attention will be paid to plans for future hardware or more advanced software - but even allowing for this, Microsoft has been uncharacteristically quiet about what the future holds for the 360 console.

Of course, on some level console battles have always been about software - with game software, not hardware, generally deciding the victors in previous generations. However, this time around the playing field has definitely been widened.

Consumers are increasingly buying consoles on the expectation that their hardware will be better tomorrow than it is today. Companies suddenly face an obligation to keep their system software up to date, and to wow the market with new features and abilities. In what may well be the most complex console battle the industry has ever seen, software updates are yet another important front to watch.