“Microsoft may have finally found the recipe to capture the
couch potato… The key ingredient is games. The big software maker
is busy putting the pieces together to make Windows CE a premier
gaming platform.
Ultimately, the idea is to have multifunction set-top boxes that
not only can play games, but surf the Net, control home
entertainment, and play DVD movies. There’s only one hitch: Sony
(NYSE:SNE) seems to have beaten Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) to the
punch.
When the Japanese consumer electronics maker announced details
of its heavily anticipated PlayStation 2 two weeks ago, its plans
went far beyond just another game machine. ‘If Sony makes it
out with a cable-ready version of their PlayStation 2 before
Microsoft comes out with a Windows CE-based gaming box, Microsoft
is in trouble,’ said Jeremy Schwartz, game market analyst at
industry watcher Forrester Research Inc….”
“with hardware specs far ahead of the competition’s — 10 times
faster than Sega’s Dreamcast and three times faster than Pentium
III, claims Sony — PlayStation 2 is the game console to beat. But
more important, Sony execs used the announcement to admit something
they’d previously denied: The electronics maker is aiming the
PlayStation 2 at becoming the new household entertainment
center.”