Who is leading the technology race?
There have been tremendous raves leading to a technological insanity. If you invested in tech stock in the early months of 1999 or prior, you have invested well.
Technology and internet services took precedence in 1999, stampeding to the top of motivated stocks for the year. It seemed like there was no end to new creative gismos and programs ranging from improved digital cameras, writable cd-roms, and palm pilots, to mp3 sound files, and online TV and radio. All technology companies were in a race to hopefully brand their existence as the leader of advance technology in the new millennium. It seems like every business of sorts are stamping ".com" behind their names. Alan Greenspan raised a warning to investors at every opportunity about the overrating of most internet and technology stock.
But, the technology race kept going, and the stock kept climbing to record highs.
Stepping into the year two thousand, technology stock eventually slowed in investments, but that did not slow production. You may wonder why. It could be that the big boys, like Microsoft, Intel, Macintosh, and the new kid on the block, Mass Media Group, have learned that technology and entertainment are an infallible union.
This may lead consumers to greater expense in keeping stride with what may be the largest entertainment/technology boom in history. And who could be our gilded goose laying the golden eggs? None other than the Sony Corporation.
Sony, with its launch and future expectations for Play Station 2, is daring to set a new standard and pace for the games industry that may boldly step into the PC arena, along with e-commerce, including the movie and music industry.
At $350, the Sony Play Station 2 was released for sale in Japan. Within hours, all stores were sold out of the new game console. Sony is hoping this is only the prelude to what may come this fall when the Play Station 2 is launched in the U.S.
The big "Bull Market" is getting antsy about a very bold move by Sony that could either be a great success or a complete disaster.
This is important to know. The Play Station 2 is more than just your main-aim game player. Play Station 2 has the ability to function as a gamer, plus CD and DVD player, while also providing e-commerce, word processing, web surfing, and email.
Sony has made the PS2 with compatible connectors to cable television, video players, digital cameras, printers, keyboard, mouse, and internet capability. This means you can do it all– everything that you presently do with your desktop PC, and more, with this one game console.
It threatens to recruit many average PC users into a newer and faster way of surfing the net, download large media files, and games.
For game goers, the PS2 has the capability to take the gamer into the Internet playing field, where they can enter challenge games against opponents from all over the world.
The PS2, holding a self-contained 8MB memory card, brings an end to limited, easy to lose, memory cards needed for the first generation Play Station. The gamer will be able to download and store new games to play from Sony's website.
The gamer can store their last position in several games and return to it later without worry of allotted spaces. Most gamers probably wish they had this feature to help them through Final Fantasy VIII. Well not to worry for some of you still stuck on disc three. The Play Station 2 is compatible with all first generation Play Station games. The list seems to go on with many other possible features Play Station 2 has in stored for the user.
The catch, dimming the eye of investors, is the delay in online connections that would provide almost half of Play Station 2's other features.
Investors fear this may later confuse the market, and prove to be too costly for consumers to see the other features and necessary adapters as a worthwhile purchase. Also, with a built-in DVD player, investors estimate that Sony is losing $200 per console. They also consider the competition, Sega Dreamcast, affordable, with online connection, as a worthy adversary that may buck Sony out of the drivers seat. Sony intends to hold off on placing these additional connectors on the market until next year in wait of increase expansion to broadband digital networks. They explain, with the current phone lines available, downloads and e-commerce will be a very slow process, and will only frustrate consumers. In all, investment advisors are unnerved by this tactic. There is a fear that Sony will be left behind, risking millions of dollars on a long-term plan with a high risk for failure.
In the eye of the big-money, middle-aged to older investors, one can understand their concern. But they should ask themselves if they have a teenager or a grandchild at home playing on a Sony game console right now.
In the eye of the new generation gamer and consumer, the Play Station 2, backed with a whopping **128-bit** Emotion Engine, almost three times as powerful as the Pentiums used in current PCs, an 8MB memory card for a multipurpose use of storage, music CD and DVD compatible use, professional Dolby sound ports, with the greatest imaging and movie-like CG graphics available today, with compatible use of all Play Station first generation
games, and other PC compatible connections, which converts the PS2 into a mini PC, with five times less the cost of the current DVD PCs, and six times less the space, this is already the ultimate entertainment package.
View this site to learn more about Sony's online game venture that will offer special premier games, and some games that will only be available online, but well within reach of the powerful Play Station 2.
www.zdnet.com
It is very unlikely that the Sony Corporation, the first company to introduce the walk-man, would venture into a project they were uncertain would turn a profit.
Sony is a pioneer in their own right. They must be serious about the future of the Play Station 2 to purchase a company that distributes almost a third of the world's broadband digital networks.
Investors should not act hastily and watch Sony Corporation's progress. Sony may also use Japanese animation to sensationalize their games. This is something Sony presently has over their competitors.
Japanese animation has been the key ingredient to the Pokemon merchandise craze. Investors should always consider future Sony projects with present progress. Sony will be launching a new series of games. The most popular game, Final Fantasy 8, will be met by the reversion series Final Fantasy IX, X, XI, and XII.
They may meet a radical success with the release of the complete theatrical CG animation, Final Fantasy: The Movie, to come to theaters in 2001.
Preliminary clips of the animation in production show the CG graphics to be just as good as the scenes viewed in Final Fantasy VIII Play Station game.
Animated movies of other similar projects are soon to follow. You can probably be assured that any animation released into theaters or television by Sony will be derived from an existing or future Sony game. It may soon become common practice, and competitors may follow the trend.
The techno race would not be a race without competitors. It seemed like Sony and Sega were the only companies challenging each other. But, Micro Soft is coming up from behind with their launch of their own game console presently known as the "X-Box." Micro Soft previews it Friday, March 10th.
The game console is set to be out on the market in the year 2001. This should be closely looked at in comparison to Sony's Play Station 2, and how it may rival both Sony and Sega. A follow story on this development will eventually follow.
Editor's note: If you have any questions you can direct them to B. Bradshaw by sending them to source@viaccess.net. Please label your subject 'New Gene
ration.'
