"...With the PlayStation 2 set to land in stores in the United States, Canada and Europe in October, Sony is doing its best to make it more than just a video game console. The North American version will come with a slot for a hard drive and port for an Internet connection, positioning it to be the jack-of-all-trades of the living room, playing games, music and movies downloaded from the Internet, Sony said Wednesday.

Sony's competitors in the video game market also demonstrated new games and features at the computer game trade show Wednesday, but the PlayStation 2 has gained a lot of attention for its immense computational power, which allows it to render animated three-dimensional scenes and characters with unprecedented realism.

The PlayStation 2 also can play DVD movies, but at $299, the sleek black box will cost less than many digital video disc players. Sony is preparing for the same kind of craze in North America, with one million units in stores for the Oct. 26 launch..." NULL