Sony/AOL Online

Written by Omer Ali on May 30, 2001

Sony/AOL Online: A match made in heaven

What do you get when the largest Internet provider teams up with one of the largest video game console providers? You get one hell of huge market coverage. The deal between Sony and AOL has already begun to turn heads in the IT and video game industries. Many were speculating that Sony would not be able to get the PS2 network up and running before the release of the Xbox this fall. Now with the help of AOL, Sony doesn't seem to be worried about the coming of the Xbox. Not that Sony had anything to worry about in the first place.

AOL's already established Internet user base goes hand in hand with Sony's 10million PS2 owners worldwide base. Sony already announced at E3 that it would be shipping another 7million PS2 units to North America by the end of this year. That would bring the amount of PS2 units in North America up to 10million.

With AOL's help Sony will receive an all-new Netscape browser suited only for the PS2 and its network. The AOL/Sony PS2 network will allow users to send and receive email, instant messages and surf the web, as they would do with a conventional computer. Further down the line AOL and Sony will incorporate exclusive online games that will be available to the PS2 users. Also games such as Final Fantasy XI, Unreal Tournament and others to come will be able to make use of the broadband connection for multiplayer capabilities.

Later this summer, Sony will release an upgrade for the PS2, in the form of a broadband ready hard disk drive. The hard disk drive will allow the PS2 the capability to hold the browser and other software applications for the system. Later in the year Sony will release a mouse, a keyboard and a LCD screen. With all these little goodies the PS2 will be transformed into your run of the mill, friendly neighborhood computer.

In addition to the deal with AOL, Sony also has made alliances with Real Networks, Macromedia, and Cisco systems. At present very little is known about the role these companies will play in Sony's grand scheme. Real Networks will provide the PS2 the capability of streaming audio and video. Macromedia will give the console flash capabilities and Cisco will most likely help in building the broadband hardware.

Sony is well on its way to establishing the PS2 as the great Next-Gen. machine it was meant to be. With the likes of AOL, Real Networks, Cisco, and Macromedia backing the PS2, Xbox and Nintendo don't have a prayer in heaven to win this war.