SCE Prepares For Battle With Rival Game Machine Makers
Posted by @ 3:52 PM, EST
Another story from The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Friday morning edition:

"TOKYO -- The alliances that Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s new e-commerce subsidiary is forming with leading software developers mark the prelude to a fierce battle among game machine manufacturers, industry analysts said.

The move also indicates preparation by SCE for the Internet era, when the company expects the new PlayStation2 game console to take the position of the computer in the home, the analysts said.

The 1998 debut of Sega Enterprises Ltd.'s Dreamcast ushered in competition in network-capable game consoles featuring high-performance chips. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and its partner Nintendo Co. at the end of this year are slated to debut a new unit, and U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. is developing its own home game console.

Meanwhile, SCE is firming up ties in the PlayStation camp, with game developers such as Square Co. (9620) and Namco Ltd. taking with nine other firms a stake in the new PlayStation.com Japan Inc.

"The move also provides a check to Microsoft, which has started contacting domestic game developers about the new machine it began developing sometime last summer," said an industry analyst.

SCE will begin in 2001 distributing movies, games and music in digitized bit form to PlayStation2 consoles at households. SCE's electronic distribution business aims to render CDs, DVDs and other packages superfluous. PlayStation.com Japan will operate the business.

Seven-Eleven Japan Co. is another firm taking a stake in PlayStation.com Japan. Its convenience stores could be used to distribute and accept payment for products, which could also alter the distribution of game titles."