Miniver
July 12th, 2004, 10:32 AM
From Reuters (www.reuters.com)
By Daisuke Wakabayashi
TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp. expects to show off its latest PlayStation at the E3 trade show next May, it said on Monday, increasing pressure on Microsoft Corp. to take the wraps off its Xbox successor at that time.
Sony's game-business head Ken Kutaragi said it planned to unveil a playable version of the new console at next year's E3, the annual video-game trade show scheduled to take place from May 18 to 20 in Los Angeles.
"There has been some talk that development is not going well, but we expect to have a playable version at E3. We are pushing ahead with that schedule in mind," Kutaragi told a meeting of developers, suppliers and media.
Kutaragi did not mention a launch date for the new console, dubbed "PS3" by some Web Sites, but company officials said it may follow a similar timetable to market as its predecessor, the PlayStation 2 (PS2), which went on sale in Japan almost a year after it was first displayed.
Next year's E3 could be the stage for a showdown of new home consoles from the industry's main hardware makers, including Nintendo Co. Ltd., which has pledged to take the wraps off its new game machine, codenamed "Revolution," at that time.
Microsoft officials have repeatedly said that its new game machine, dubbed "Xbox Next" by media, would not be beaten to market by Sony. Some industry watchers expect Microsoft to unveil its new machine at E3 as well.
"It looks like Microsoft is fairly advanced at the moment. The company might have gotten wrong-footed a bit, but it looks like everything is going to turn up at the same time," said Hiroshi Kamide, analyst at KBC Securities in Tokyo.
Sony controls two-thirds of the global home-console market with the PS2, which came to market months before the Xbox and a year and Nintendo's GameCube.
"One thing is for sure. This will change the landscape of the industry significantly," said Kamide. Sony's shares closed up 0.5 percent at 4,020 yen before the news, underperforming the benchmark Nikkei 225, which rose 1.4 percent.
Full Story (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=SCG1RDCZFRXZSCRBAE0CF EY?type=technologyNews&storyID=5643609)
By Daisuke Wakabayashi
TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp. expects to show off its latest PlayStation at the E3 trade show next May, it said on Monday, increasing pressure on Microsoft Corp. to take the wraps off its Xbox successor at that time.
Sony's game-business head Ken Kutaragi said it planned to unveil a playable version of the new console at next year's E3, the annual video-game trade show scheduled to take place from May 18 to 20 in Los Angeles.
"There has been some talk that development is not going well, but we expect to have a playable version at E3. We are pushing ahead with that schedule in mind," Kutaragi told a meeting of developers, suppliers and media.
Kutaragi did not mention a launch date for the new console, dubbed "PS3" by some Web Sites, but company officials said it may follow a similar timetable to market as its predecessor, the PlayStation 2 (PS2), which went on sale in Japan almost a year after it was first displayed.
Next year's E3 could be the stage for a showdown of new home consoles from the industry's main hardware makers, including Nintendo Co. Ltd., which has pledged to take the wraps off its new game machine, codenamed "Revolution," at that time.
Microsoft officials have repeatedly said that its new game machine, dubbed "Xbox Next" by media, would not be beaten to market by Sony. Some industry watchers expect Microsoft to unveil its new machine at E3 as well.
"It looks like Microsoft is fairly advanced at the moment. The company might have gotten wrong-footed a bit, but it looks like everything is going to turn up at the same time," said Hiroshi Kamide, analyst at KBC Securities in Tokyo.
Sony controls two-thirds of the global home-console market with the PS2, which came to market months before the Xbox and a year and Nintendo's GameCube.
"One thing is for sure. This will change the landscape of the industry significantly," said Kamide. Sony's shares closed up 0.5 percent at 4,020 yen before the news, underperforming the benchmark Nikkei 225, which rose 1.4 percent.
Full Story (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=SCG1RDCZFRXZSCRBAE0CF EY?type=technologyNews&storyID=5643609)