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Sony poised to unleash console Posted at 10:31 p.m. PDT Friday, October 20, 2000 BY THERESE POLETTI Mercury News Sony Corp. wants to get into your living room in a big way. The Japanese consumer electronics behemoth also wants to make sure that the personal computer stays in the den. With those ambitions in mind, Sony has designed its new video game console, the Sony PlayStation2, to become the focal point of the living room, the place where a family gathers for all kinds of entertainment. On Thursday, the first consumers will get their hands on the $299 device when the Sony PlayStation2 becomes available in the United States. Based on its successful launch in Japan and the demand from retailers, Sony expects to quickly sell out its first 500,000 units. ``There is no question that this is the most powerful consumer electronics product on Earth,`` said Rick Doherty, director of Envisioneering Inc., a consulting firm in Seaford, N.Y. ``It has more engineering for the price than anything this year or previously.`` Or more to the point for the kids lining up to buy the magic box: ``Sony will have more deep games,`` said Joe Satran, an 11-year-old video gamer in Montclair, N.J. ``I am definitely more excited about this than I was about the Dreamcast or about Nintendo`s Gamecube. A lot of people in my class are like, `I hope I can get one.`. . . Even my teacher has reserved one.`` What`s all the fuss about? Isn`t the PlayStation2 just another way to play games on your TV set? Well, yes and no. At its heart, the PlayStation2 is a high-end graphics box filled with a vast array of computer chips and other technologies that can display video images with incredible realism. Two of the computer chips in the console are so-called vector chips, the type typically used in supercomputers -- the most powerful computers around. The sleek black box can also act as a DVD player, so it can play both digital movie discs and audio CDs, melding another major form of entertainment into the console. The PlayStation2, or PS2 as it`s popularly known, even has slots to add peripherals like a hard disk drive and a keyboard, making it a computer in disguise. Embracing old games Unlike other gaming systems, the PS2 is also the first video gaming system that can play games developed for the original PlayStation, a feature unheard of in the video gaming industry, where gaming companies make most of their profits from game royalties. This move to embrace the ``backward compatibility`` model of the PC industry means that the 74 million owners of the PlayStation -- the most popular game console currently in use -- will be able to play their old games on the new system. Not that they`ll want to. The new PS2 games will have the lifelike images and 3-D graphics previously associated with animated films developed using high-performance computers and workstations. For example, in Sony`s upcoming ``Gran Turismo 2001,`` exhaust fumes can be seen coming from the cars, and the sun`s glare or pouring rain can be seen on the racetrack. The curves on a snow-boarding course in Electronic Arts Inc.`s ``SSX`` are dizzying, and the music gets more intense as the riders do tougher moves. ``It`s the supercomputer in the living room,`` said Mark Pesce, the creator of VRML (virtual reality modeling language), which allows 3-D images to be viewed over the Internet. In his just-published book ``The Playful World,`` Pesce describes the PS2 as the next hottest toy in the world. The PS2 is expected to vastly change the landscape of the $20 billion worldwide video gaming industry. The realism in the games and the potential to blend in other forms of media, such as DVD movies, might attract a whole new set of users, blurring the line between Hollywood-style entertainment and video games. ``I think it will broaden the audience,`` said Don Mattrick, president of Electronic Arts` studios, which is betting heavily on the PS2. ``We had friends who are not users in the space get their hands on our games and the controller . . . and we had to kick them out of our house. People who have not grown up with video games are saying this is unbelievable.`` `The first convergence box` Sutro & Co. analyst James Lin calls the PlayStation2 ``the first convergence box,`` where game publishers will be able to add more depth to games and links with movies. For example, a movie such as the upcoming one based on ``Tomb Raider`` games could have extra features on the DVD version for the PS2, melding Hollywood studio production and gaming software. ``That is where the excitement lies,`` Lin said. The PS2`s thin black casing, which fits in unobtrusively with most home stereo and other electronics equipment, is also a computer in disguise. The PS2 has slots for two 8-megabyte add-in memory cards -- at an additional cost of $34 each -- where gamers can store their games. But more importantly, built into the system are two Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports for attaching extras like a mouse, a keyboard or a printer. It also comes with a so-called iLink port, which can attach devices such as a Sony video camcorder for the high-speed transfer of digital video. Sony has built into the PS2 a bay that can hold a 3.5-inch hard disk drive and an expansion unit for a network interface to access the Internet or a high-speed network. The company is currently developing a broadband network with several yet-to-be-named partners, but no further details are available, except that it promises a network connection ``sometime next year.`` ``The Internet adds to the Trojan horse aspect of the machine,`` said Trip Hawkins, chairman and chief executive of 3DO Co., a Redwood City-based game developer, which is developing games for the PS2. Next year, Microsoft will unveil its contestant -- a console with some features of the PC called the Xbox. Others in the video game business are not standing still. No. 2 console maker Nintendo Co. Ltd. plans to launch its next-generation system, the Gamecube, sometime next year, based on a specially designed chip from International Business Machines Corp. that uses ultra-fast copper technology. While the Microsoft and Nintendo systems won`t make it for this holiday season, Sega Enterprises Ltd. plans to benefit from the PS2 hype and lack of supply by having plenty of its Dreamcast consoles available. The $149 Dreamcast, introduced earlier this year, also has stunning graphics and an Internet connection. And it should be far easier for anxious parents to find than the PS2. In typical in-your-face fashion, Sega recently started running a print ad in gaming magazines featuring a devilish-looking red-haired boy, tongue stuck out and thumbs in his ears. The ad reads: ``Our deepest condolences to Sony on their PS2 shipping difficulties.`` |
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| aus der Diskussion: | Interactive TV - Markt und Wettbewerb |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | Janphil (24.10.00 01:03:39) |
| Beitrag: | 60 von 232 (ID:2160041) |
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