Sony Announces Internet Strategy For Long-Awaited PlayStation 3
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sony Corp. announced a broad Internet-game strategy for its long-awaited PlayStation 3 console, intensifying competition in an area of gaming that rival Microsoft Corp. has made a primary focus.
Speaking at a conference for game-industry programmers here, a Sony executive said the company will more deeply integrate communications capabilities in games for the PS3, including the ability for users to videoconference over the Internet as they play games against each other.
Users of the PS3 also will be able to purchase and download add-on content for games such as virtual weapons for a combat title or fresh vehicle designs for racing games. In a potentially disruptive move for traditional retailers, Sony said the PS3 will allow users to download full games over the Internet to the console.
The announcement of Sony's online strategy comes a week after the Japanese electronics giant announced it will delay the introduction of the PS3 until November from the spring, citing holdups in the copy-protection system for the optical-disc format the PS3 will use to play movies and games.
The success of PS3 -- and to some extent Sony itself -- rests on whether publishers can produce compelling games for the console. Sony, which dominates the market with its top-selling PlayStation 2, makes about a third of its operating profit from its videogame business.
While Sony was vague on many details of the PS3's online-game capabilities, they appear to closely resemble those in Microsoft's new Xbox 360 console, through which users connect to a service called Xbox Live, where they can purchase small downloadable games and additional content for games that users buy on discs. Sony said basic online game playing for PS3 will be free to users in most cases, though there will be charges for add-on content.
"This is clearly Sony playing catch-up," said P.J. McNealy, an analyst at American Technology Research. "They had to respond to Xbox Live at some point."
In a speech to game developers, Phil Harrison, president of Sony Computer Entertainment's world-wide studios, said the company envisions publishers creating downloadable chapters for games originally purchased on discs, with the idea of generating water-cooler discussions about the latest game "episodes" available online.
Mr. Harrison said users also will be able to download entire games of the quality normally sold on discs at retail stores, though he predicted most games will continue to be sold on optical discs through conventional channels. The downloading option, analysts said, may not catch on anytime soon, since the process could take hours, if not more than a day, on standard high-speed Internet connections.
索尼宣布PlayStation 3互联网游戏战略
索尼公司(Sony Corp., 又名：新力公司)针对其备受期待的PlayStation 3游戏机宣布了一项广泛的互联网游戏战略，此举势必将加剧游戏领域的竞争。索尼的竞争对手微软公司(Microsoft Corp.)已经将游戏领域视为其主要的业务重点。
索尼的一位管理人士在加州圣荷塞召开的游戏开发商大会上表示，索尼将更加深入地把通讯功能集成到PS3游戏中，包括玩家在游戏对决时可以通过互联网进行视频会议。
PS3的用户将能够购买和下载游戏附加内容，如战斗游戏里的虚拟武器或赛车游戏里的新车设计。索尼称，PS3将允许用户通过互联网将游戏完整地下载到游戏机上，此举可能对传统零售商带来破坏性的影响。
就在索尼宣布网络战略的一周前，这家日本电子巨头表示将把PS3的发布时间从今年春季推迟到11月份，理由是PS3将用来播放电影和游戏的光盘格式的版权保护系统尚未最后完成。
PS3的成功－－在某种意义上也是索尼自身的成功－－将取决于游戏开发商能否制作出具有吸引力的PS3游戏。索尼以其热销的PlayStation 2雄居游戏市场，公司三分之一的营运利润来自于视频游戏业务。
虽然索尼对PS3网络游戏功能的细节含糊其辞，但它们似乎与微软新推出的Xbox 360游戏机非常相似。玩家可以通过Xbox 360连接到一项名为Xbox Live的服务，由此可以购买可下载的小游戏和光盘游戏的附加内容。索尼称，PS3的基本网络游戏大多数情况下将免费向用户开放，但是附加内容要收费。
“显然索尼试图迎头赶上，”American Technology Research的分析师P.J. McNealy说。“他们在某种程度上不得不对Xbox Live做出回应。”
索尼计算机娱乐公司(Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.)的全球工作室总裁哈里森(Phil Harrison)在对游戏开发商的演讲中表示，索尼希望游戏开发商为原先通过光盘发售的游戏制作可下载的章节，以此引发玩家对网上现有的最新游戏情节的讨论。
哈里森称，用户将能够完整下载游戏，其质量可比通常只在零售商店的光盘上出售的游戏，但他预计大多数游戏仍将通过传统渠道在光盘上发售。分析师称，下载的方案可能不会很快流行，因为整个过程通过标准的高速互联网接入服务可能要耗时几个小时，如果不是一天的话。
