Sony to launch Playstation 2 in Japan in March 2000

Sony has confirmed that its long awaited Playstation 2 will start shipping in Japan on 4 March, further fueling the console war that will be played out in 2000.

The Playstation 2 is expected to be priced at around $360 and come with an in-built DVD player, CD-Rom and Internet connection. The system will be backwards compatible for existing Playstation software.

The shipping date announcement comes as the competition in the games market hots up. Sega saw sales of its Dreamcast hit $97 million in just 24 hours of the system going on sale in the US. It hits the shelves in Europe in October.

Meanwhile Nintendo is gearing up to launch its Dolphin console next year and rumours are already circulating that Microsoft is working on its own gaming box.

The Playstation 2 is built around a 128bit processor that is being supplied by Toshiba, which Sony claims is three times as fast as Intel’s Pentium III.

It also incorporates an extremely sophisticated graphics synthesizer that will enable games developers to create advanced special effects similar to those used in cinema films.

Sony is believed to have settled on a March launch date to enable Toshiba to ramp up its fabrication for the 128bit processors to satisfy the phenomenal demanded expected for the Playstation 2.

Sony, like Sega is betting its future on its next generation games console. Analysts are expecting the video games division to pull Sony Computer into its ranks in a restructuring that will reflect the importance Playstation plays in Sony’s empire.

Sony has shipped 55 million Playstation consoles since its launch in December 1994.