Microsoft Says Let the Online Games Begin -- on Sony's Turf
In a quiet precursor to the noisy video-game wars that will heat up this fall, Microsoft (MSFT Quote) announced Thursday a deal with Japanese Internet services outfit NTT Communications to start delivering online video games through Microsoft's new Xbox console.
Microsoft will begin testing its online gaming services in Japan -- rival Sony's (SNE Quote) home turf -- using broadband high-speed Internet connections this year. The company says that by 2002, Xbox users will have access to an online gaming service over the Japanese broadband network.
It's a direct and deliberate contrast to competitor Sony's recently released 128-bit console, the hot PlayStation 2, which doesn't offer high-speed access -- yet. Though the company hasn't made any Internet strategy public, it has said that it plans to enter the online gaming market with the console, offering a broadband access module this summer. ...
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