In separate deals announced May 16, 2001, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. entered into agreements with RealNetworks and Macromedia to embed both RealPlayer and Flash client technologies into the PlayStation2 game console and software development kit (SDK). RealPlayer integration will enable the 10 million plus PlayStation 2 users to access streaming Internet audio and video content such as news, sports and other entertainment. The SDK will allow game developers, using the latest RealPlayer technology, to incorporate streaming media directly into their PlayStation 2 games. Flash integration brings rich, interactive Web content to PlayStation 2 gamers. In addition, more than 700,000 Flash developers can now extend their reach from the Web to yet another next-generation Web-enabled device, one focused on content-rich entertainment experiences. These two agreements are further evidence of Sonys strategic goal of fusing games, music, movies and broadcasting into a new world of computer entertainment for the broadband era. "Our goal is to revolutionize the home entertainment market and even communication itself with PlayStation and PlayStation 2, the most prevailing entertainment platforms in the world," said Ken Kutaragi, CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Streaming media integration will vastly enrich the computer entertainment world PlayStation has built up to date. While envisioning the direct download of digital content from the network in the coming broadband era, we will obtain digital streaming and downloadable media using current networks, by integrating into PlayStation 2 the world's most popular Internet media delivery client, RealPlayer. As the world of gaming and the Internet merge, so too will entertainment and communication."
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
