Microsoft
Interview: Miller Tabak + Co.---Roth, Phil---Analyst
>> microsoft’s anti-trust problems are not just in europe. the company is facing a class action lawsuit on behalf of 4,000 consumers in nebraska. according to the suit, the public was overcharged for the windows 98 operating system. the suit was reinstated by the nebraska supreme court. it was filed after a federal appeals court ruled that microsoft illegally exploited its windows monopoly. the company has settled similar suits in 10 other states. microsoft faces european anti-trust regulators fpls. they may impose restrictions on the windows system after settlement talks fell through this week. the game developers conference kicks off on monday in san jose, california. p.j. mcneely of american technology research says he is looking for presentations from microsoft and sony. he joins us from our bureau in san francisco with a preview. p.j., thanks for joining us. this i understand is the first of two big annual industry video game conferences. what are investors and analysts like yourself―what do you really need to hear from microsoft and sony?
>> sure. the conference next week is for the developer, for the folks that provide code for video games in the market . this is a chance for microsoft and sony to get that audience really excited about what is coming up. from this standpoint, we look for microsoft to step up and talk about having a new set of software development tools to make it much easier to develop for the x-box which could mean good news for publishers down the road such as electronic arts take two, t.h.q. sony we expect to talk about the fact that they think their strength is in the fact that if you look at original sony playstation, original game console, that has been on the market for 10 years and still selling a million units. we expect them to say hey, playstation two, selling for $179, will be around for another five to six years so you should be enthusiastic about that platform.
