Sony to open Playstation Store:
gamecenter.com
By Ken Feinstein
April 23, 1999, 4 p.m. PT
Having trouble finding Crash Bandicoot paraphernalia? Help may be on the way. Sony is preparing to launch its first retail PlayStation store this summer. The store, located in San Francisco, will offer PlayStation hardware, games, and accessories, as well as sundry PlayStation-themed merchandise.
Set to open June 16 as part of the grand opening of Sony's Metreon entertainment complex, the store will offer a "one-stop shopping environment for everything that is PlayStation," explained Kaz Hirai, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, in a prepared statement. "This store will also provide the ideal venue for us to test our new merchandising and promotional concepts," he said.
Metreon, a four-floor, 350,000-square-foot complex located near downtown San Francisco, will offer a wide array of high-tech entertainment. In addition to a conventional movie complex and IMAX theater, it will feature three interactive attractions, eight restaurants, and several stores.
The PlayStation store, spreading over 5,531 square feet, will include more than 30 interactive kiosks, each with displays for at least 4 games. Similar to the listening stations that have become commonplace in record stores, these kiosks will allow customers to try out games before buying them.
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