By Bob Johnstone
When Sony announced last October that it was developing a 32-bit game machine, industry and media types rolled their eyes and said "queue up with the rest of 'em." But when Sony demonstrated its prototype in May, it was clear that the company intended to cut to the front of the line.
Dubbed PlayStation, the game box is intended to hit the Japanese market in time for the 1994 "buying season" that coincides with the year-end holidays in the US. Though Sony has yet to announce a price, the machine will likely list for below Yen 50,000 (US$485).
To support PlayStation, Sony has signed up 164 Japanese software developers to produce entertainment titles. Estimated prices are between Yen 5,000 and Yen 6,000 (US$48 to $58) per CD, according to Sony Computer Entertainment.
PlayStation's key feature is its ability to manipulate 3-D graphics in real time. In this respect (and in price), it resembles both archrival Matsushita's REAL 3DO player, which hit Japanese shops in March, and Sega's Saturn, which is scheduled to appear at the same time as PlayStation.
In addition to unveiling a cool gray plastic hardware mock-up of PlayStation and its two-handed grip-type controller, Sony also showcased some excerpts from prototype games and 3-D images manipulated directly through the game controls. Most impressive was a dancing tyrannosaur (a dig at Matsushita: its MCA subsidiary produced Jurassic Park Interactive for 3DO). The photorealistically rendered dino featured unprecedented freedom of movement; it could run, turn, and jump – snapping its jaws all the while.
Sony's goal is to ride them 32-bit wave that is building as sales of the 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System flag. Both Sega and Sony intend to exploit the gap in the marketplace until Nintendo's 64-bit Project Reality machine appears in fall 1995.
To spearhead its 1995 attack on the US market, Sony has hired Steve Race to run its newly formed Computer Entertainment of America company. It's Sony's bet that the "marketing intellect" (that's Sony's way of putting it) behind Reebok's inflatable sports shoes will be able to pump up the hype on the PlayStation and avoid a 3DO-style blowout.
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