If you’ve noticed the extra-frenzied chatter coming from the IT department lately, or the recent overactive salivary disorder affecting the geeky, it’s no coincidence. It’s a yearly symptom brought on by the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), and it means big news for the gaming world, as the big three in console games announce their upcoming projects. Here’s a summary of the festivities:

Sony threw down the gauntlet of corporate warfare, lowering the price of the Playstation 3 by $100 and announcing a new 80gig model, as well as newer, sleeker, faster PSP that can connect to PC’s and home entertainment centers. They showed off many of their new toys, like, Playstation Home, their new 3d console community that allows for interconnectivity between PS3 and PSP and even cell phones, and allows for many multiplayer/online features, they also reminded fans of their superior graphics capabilities as they showed off their coming lineup of games.

Many expected Microsoft to mirror Sony’s announcements with their own price drop for the X-Box. They did not. Microsoft simply pointed out that with the “perfect storm” of games with exclusive X-Box content that will coming out later this year (i.e. Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto, and Madden 2008), along with many other great titles showcased, X-Box will be the console everyone will want to have. And they may be right. In addition to these titles aimed at the heart of gaming, they are also trying to expand the scope of the console by having more HD movies available for download onto the X-Box.

Nintendo’s big announcement at E3 was their newest toy, Wii Fit, a game designed to work with a weight sensing panel to help improve overall health. It will be interesting to see how this gets incorporated into Wii’s already singular game play. They also announced a Wii zapper, which will allow the Wii-Mote to be used like a gun, as well as a steering wheel and showed how they would work in their upcoming titles. They stressed breaking down the barriers that separated gamers from the rest of the world and will be incorporating more online play to accomplish this.

Gamers and non-gamers alike, prepare for madness as the gaming industry sets up for what appears to be its best year ever.