Imagine a tennis ball rocketing back and forth across a sizzling clay court. A man takes a step back, winds up and smacks the ball with his racket – only he’s not really holding a racket. His hand is flailing a small wand while he stares into a giant television screen, volleying the ball back-and-forth with an electronic opponent.

Welcome to E3. Last week the Electronic Entertainment Expo played host to tens of thousands of electronics professionals who were able to go hands-on with the latest in gaming technology.

The annual event, cherished by gamers and techies around the world, is known for its sneak previews of all things gaming.

This year’s event, held in the Los Angeles Convention Center from May 10 to 12, held special significance because of the grand unveiling of the next generation of video gaming consoles. Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii made their grand debut, as well as announced improvements in hardware and software for Microsoft’s Xbox 360. During the last generation of gaming, the video-game industry grossed more than $7 billion a year, and 75 percent of American household heads reported playing computer and video games, according to studies by the Entertainment Software Association.

According to the same study, in 2005, 228 million computer and video games were sold. That’s almost two games for every household in America, making the gaming industry one of the largest grossing in the nation – and also one of the most competitive.

Although console wars have been vicious in the past, this year is possibly going to be the most competitive in the history of video gaming. Nick Hickman, employee at Gamestop, 2801 Grand Ave., said despite all the hype, he thinks the Xbox 360 is going to come out on top in the long run.

“I think Xbox 360 is going to do the best,” he said. “Mainly because PS3 – although it’s going to be a little bit more powerful – it’s going to be more expensive and it’s going to be harder to program for from what developers have said.”

The bare-bones PlayStation 3 will cost $499, with a more fully loaded version set to launch at $599. Comparatively, Xbox 360 runs at both $299 and $399, and analysts predict the Wii will run at around $200. Hickman also thinks Nintendo’s Wii is going to do a lot better than people initially anticipated, because of its innovative ease of use and its tentative low price tag.

The Wii’s exhibition at E3 was by far the most popular of the show, according to center representatives. The line to see Nintendo’s new console zigzagged around corners and promised a wait time of more than four hours, breaking every E3 record.

The new console strays from the raw power approach taken by Sony and Microsoft and instead integrates a revolutionary motion-sensitive remote control. The console also allows users to download every popular Nintendo game from the past 20 years, as well as select games from other consoles, including the Sega Genesis.

Joe Nevshemal, owner of Legions 2 Legends gaming cafe, 2603 Northridge Parkway, said he thinks much of Nintendo’s hype sounds like a good idea, but it still needs a lot of work before it becomes mainstream. “From what I’ve heard of it, it’s unique but it doesn’t have very good playability. There are a couple reviews of both the Wii and the PlayStation 3 motion sensitive controls – and they’re supposedly still very glitchy,” Nevshemal said. He also said that from his experience, people don’t like drastic changes.

“You’ll notice that people don’t like big changes – they like incremental changes,” he said. “So if you take away the controller, which has been here since the first Nintendo, the concept hasn’t changed since the beginning of gaming consoles.”

Nevshemal also said after “Halo 2” debuted as one of the best-selling video games of all time, Microsoft’s plan to release “Halo 3” a few weeks before the launch of the PS3 will be sure to hurt PS3 sales. Regardless of who comes out on top, gamers around the world are antsy with anticipation for the next wave of gaming consoles. Avid gamer Michael Gill, sophomore in mechanical engineering, is ecstatic about what he has heard from E3.

“I’m very very excited,” he said. “I think the gaming industry will undergo some big changes. I’m gonna get a Nintendo Wii for sure.”