Friday March 3 8:20 PM ET
Joy in Japan As Playstation2 Sales Begin
By Stuart Grudgings
TOKYO (Reuters) - PlayStation2 fever swept Japan on Saturday as thousands of excited game fans who had braved the cold and queued through the night rushed to get their hands on Sony's (6758.T) new dream machine as stores opened.
At 7 a.m., video game shops in Tokyo pulled up their shutters to reveal stacks of gleaming blue PlayStation2 boxes and let the eager but orderly crowds in to claim their consoles, one of the most hotly hyped electronic gadgets in history.
``Cold, tired, excited,' said U.S. air force enlisted man Dan Champion, describing his emotions as he emerged from one store clutching a box.
Many game fanatics, including some who traveled thousands of miles from Europe and North America, had camped out for two nights in Tokyo's Akihabara electronics district to make sure they would be one of the first lucky owners.
The object of their desire, priced at around $360, is a console that many analysts say takes home entertainment to a new dimension with life-like animation and the capacity to play DVDs and surf the net.
Its ``emotion engine' processor has been billed as creating film-like quality, enabling it to depict the most subtle images and movements from hair blowing in the wind to sparks flying from the undercarriage of speeding race cars.
``The turnout is definitely above expectations. We've worked all night to ensure a smooth launch, but compared to Windows 95, when we had 500 to 600 customers lining up, this time seems to be four times as many,' said Matsuda Nobiyuki, a spokesman for Sofmap, a big electronics shop in Akihabara.
To ensure no one would be disappointed, customers were limited to one console each.
Second Coming
The launch of the PlayStation2 has been treated on a par with the Second Coming in game-mad Japan and television crews were on hand to give live coverage of the event.
``I am the first Frenchman to buy a PlayStation (2)!' boasted Tom, who traveled from Paris to buy the console, as he displayed his prize.
``Why would I come all the way here today? I just couldn't miss it... But frankly I am exhausted, dead. Fifteen hours with no sleep, the cups of coffee...the jetlag.'
Sony aims to sell a million PlayStation2s in the first two days and is betting heavily on the success of the new machine.
The original PlayStation, and the games that go with it are a high-profit haven for Japan's leading high-tech firm, which already holds a dominant 70 percent share of the world game console market.
If the initial reaction of fans is any guide, it has little to worry about.
``In gaming terms, this is up there with the invention of the steam engine,' said Steven Kent, a video-game writer from Seattle who had queued through the night to be sure of buying the console.
Kent, currently writing a book on the history of gaming, said the U.S. launch would be even more spectacular as by that time there would be more games on the market.
``The potential is unbelievable, there's just so much you can do with this system...the U.S. launch will be unbelievable,' he told Reuters.
PlayStation2 is due to be launched in the United States and Europe late this year.
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