Playstation, Xbox square off
2005-05-17 15:08
Tokyo - Sony unveiled on Tuesday its next-generation PlayStation 3 which it said would bring a first ever real-time dimension to video games when it goes on sale next year, days after Microsoft tried to break into the market with its new Xbox.
The PlayStation 3 is equipped with the world's most advanced Cell processor, which is 35 times as powerful as the PlayStation 2, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc (Scei) said.
It will be compatible with games for earlier-generation PlayStations and feature a DVD player for cinematic quality images, said Scei, which controls about 70% of the world's video game market.
But, like rival Nintendo, Sony's new console will hit the market after Christmas, likely ceding ground to Microsoft in the vital holiday shopping season.
Exceptional graphics
Ken Kutaragi, president and CEO of Scei, said: "In games, not only will movement of characters and objects be far more refined and realistic but landscapes and virtual worlds can also be rendered in real-time, thereby elevating the freedom of graphics expression to levels not experienced in the past."
"Gamers will literally be able to dive into the realistic world seen in large-screen movies."
The new console, which can also play various kinds of media, ranging from classic CD-ROMs to Blu-ray next-generation discs, was unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.
The next-generation console will go on sale worldwide in spring next year, Scei spokesperson Koichiro Katsurayama. The company, a unit of Japan's consumer electronics giant Sony Corp, declined to give a price tag for the PlayStation 3.
Sony's announcement came just days after its US rival Microsoft unveiled its new Xbox 360, a sleek, silver machine the software giant hopes can bring it a share in the cut-throat game war dominated by Sony and Nintendo.
Tough competition
The first Xbox, while on a technical par with the powerful PlayStation 2, suffered from a comparative paucity of titles and in Japan the Xbox lags far behind PlayStation and Nintendo's GameBoy series.
Nintendo said it would also unveil its new video game console, code-named "Revolution", at the Expo later in the day.
Last holiday season, Nintendo and Sony went head to head as both launched more advanced portable game machines.
At the unveiling of Sony's new game console, at least 10 game developers expressed support for Playstation 3, including Square Enix and the world's largest video game publisher, Electronic Arts of the United States.
Square Enix is known for such blockbuster titles as the Final Fantasy series, with accumulated sales of more than 600 million copies, and the DragonQuest series, with sales of some 35 million copies.
Among the other major game developers, Capcom said it will exclusively release its latest Devil May Cry 4 game for PS3. The Devil May Cry series has sold 5.8 million copies.