The football season is heating up... on video game consoles. Bloomberg Boot Camp... a report on today's technology. The competition is intense... and there are millions of dollars at stake. Never mind the Monday Night Football match ups or the Sunday afternoon clashes. Companies like Electronic Arts, Microsoft and Sega are fighting a bruising battle to win the hearts and dollars of video game football fans. All three have top notch titles... .but Electronic Arts Madden line has been king of the hill for years. At Sega of America, President Peter Moore tells us ...

"EA has a tremendous product in Madden but early indications are that we're matching them in the sales at retail as well as importantly in rental. One of the big stories this fall will be the importance of the rental channel."

Sega has partnered with ESPN for its NFL 2K3 and NCAA Football titles...

"Players can be expect to be almost playing a TV broadcast. Our relationship with ESPN is certainly going to pay dividends this fall when players get their hands on Sega Sports games and get that controller going. They're going to be feeling as if they're controlling an actual broadcast of the sports game. Whether it's NFL2K3 or NBA2K3, it has that realistic feel that only ESPN and Sega Sports can bring to that gamer."

During last year's holiday season... .the focus was on the game consoles themselves... with Microsoft and Nintendo challenging Sony's Playstation2. This year... with all three in the marketplace... .the focus is on the games themselves... .and new online play capability. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.