The new Sony Playstation uses Rambus technology, right? Read on:
Sony fires up PlayStation successor
By Bloomberg News
Special to CNET News.com
March 2, 1999, 12:45 p.m. PT
TOKYO--Sony unveiled the design of a video game player that will succeed its best-selling PlayStation, saying the new-generation machine may be released in Japan as early as this winter and arrive overseas next year.
The world's second-largest consumer electronics company presented the technical specifications of the machine at an event organized to celebrate global shipments of 50 million PlayStations.
PlayStation 2 will be the first game console for home use to feature DVD technology and an interface allowing users to continue to enjoy all games developed for its predecessor. "We want to bring the emotional experience of movies into the world of computer entertainment," said Ken Kutagari, executive vice president of Sony's video game unit.
The combination of next-generation graphics plus continued access to the PlayStation's wide selection of games will give Sony two powerful weapons as it fights to maintain its domination over Nintendo and Sega. While Sony controls a 60 percent share of a global video game business estimated at $15 billion, PlayStation sales are slowing in Japan as the market has become saturated and as competitors have introduced more powerful machines.
"Backwards compatibility is very important, since it means consumers can enjoy the new PlayStation without having to spend a lot of money right away on new software," said Kazuharu Miura, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research.
Sony didn't give sales targets for the new machine. First-year worldwide shipments of the original PlayStation, which made its debut in Japan in December 1994 and overseas in September 1995, reached 3.4 million units.
Industry analysts warn that sales may suffer a double blow if Sony fails to get the new system in stores in time for the year-end shopping rush, which typically accounts for as much as half the video game companies' annual revenue.
The winter release date represents the company's "intention," Kutagari said, adding that he could only promise that it would go on sale in Japan before arriving in the United States and Europe around fall 2000.
Copyright 1999, Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved. |
