Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) are taking their game console war to the next level—launching dueling virtual environments in the next few weeks. Microsoft is rolling out the Xbox Live Experience November 19, while Sony’s much lauded (but also much delayed) Home is slated for a launch sometime later this year, according to AP. Both worlds let gamers create avatars, customize their “living spaces” and socialize, and each will feature third-party digital content.

NewsFactor reports that Microsoft will bank on deals already inked with NetFlix, NBC Universal and the Sci-Fi Channel, among others, to supplement the Xbox Live Experience, and Sony’s Home will feature content designed by more than 24 gaming companies, according to an SCEA producer familiar with the project.

Analysts peg the worlds as both part of the natural evolution of the console from a “gaming” system to a multimedia entertainment device, as well as attempts by the gaming giants to compete with wildly successful virtual worlds like Linden Lab’s Second Life. Still, there are differing opinions about which platform will attract more users. Some argue that Sony has waited too long to get into the space, and that Home’s purpose is still too ambiguous for users—as well as potential content developers and advertisers. Others say that the extensive attention to detail will help separate Home from the Xbox Live Experience.

Pricing is the one area where Sony has not decided to go head-to-head with Microsoft (and Nintendo, to a lesser extent). Microsoft slashed the price of the Xbox 360 to $199 in September, making it half the price of the cheapest PlayStation 3. But in an interview with the FT,  Kazuo Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, said that the company wouldn’t come down on the PS3’s prices before Christmas, insisting that the console was already a much better value than the 360 or the Nintendo Wii.

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