CHIBA -- The nation's largest game exhibition opened Friday at the Makuhari Messe convention hall here, with industry chatter focused squarely on an upcoming war between the new game consoles of Microsoft Corp., the Sony group and Nintendo Co.

This year's Tokyo Game Show, sponsored by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association, is likely to be dominated by these next-generation consoles, which are said to boast movielike graphics and sound.

At Microsoft Corp.'s massive exhibition booth, some 60 Xbox 360 sets are set up for visitors, who may actually play 14 game titles developed for the console.