Sony at Comdex

Sony used a keynote address at Comdex to outline how Sony plans to use the Playstation 2 to help the world become better networked. The company hopes that the Playstation 2 will speed the adoption of high speed network access in the home, which will then be taken advantage of by Sony's new generation of set-top boxes and Vaio desktop computers. Stated Sony Computer Entertainment of America president Kazuo Hirai, "We believe it is the Playstation 2 and its compelling software which will accelerate the deployment of broadband networks into consumers homes." Sony demonstrated the new console, and announced that there are as many as 250 titles being developed for the system in anticipation of its March 2000 Japanese release. Sony also used the Comdex forum to announce a deal to license the Palm OS for use in a series of portable networked devices.