Price and Launch Date for PlayStation®2

Sony Computer Entertainment Announces Price and Launch Date for PlayStation®2

Auckland 8th August 2000, Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand (SCENZ) today announced that it would be releasing its PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system at the recommended retail price of $899.95.

SCENZ also confirmed a launch date in New Zealand of November 30th.

Since its Japanese debut on March 4th 2000, a staggering 3 million PlayStation 2 units have been shipped, making it one of the most successful electronic entertainment product launches ever.

A total of 10 million PlayStation 2 units are forecast to be shipped world-wide this financial year, with three million of those expected to be shipped to PAL territories. With over 40 PlayStation 2 titles due for release before Christmas, both retail and consumers can look forward to a very exciting period in the history of computer entertainment.

In announcing the price and release date, Steve Dykes, General Manager of SCENZ, said: "PlayStation 2’s performance continues to exceed even the most optimistic forecasts in Japan. This launch date allows us to provide optimum quantities to retail day one. In fact, we will be shipping more than ten times the number of PlayStation units when it was released in November 1995. We believe that our recommended retail price point represents great value for money for consumers offering interactive entertainment, DVD-video and future-proof technology poised to lead the broadband revolution.”

In commenting on the move, Ken Kutaragi, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. said: 'SCEI has shipped its 3 millionth unit of PlayStation 2 in Japan. This record-breaking strong demand allows us to look to the future with great confidence. Just as PlayStation brought interactive gaming to an unprecedented mass market, PlayStation 2 will open new doors to entertainment experiences in the home with its fusion of games, music and video.’’

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) is responsible for the marketing, sales and distribution of the PlayStation video games console and the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. SCEE also develops, publishes, markets and distributes software and manages the third party licensing programmes for these two platforms in the PAL territory markets of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and Africa. SCEE is a subsidiary division of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

No other system has created as much excitement and support amongst the software development community as the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. Currently over 480 publishers and developers have signed PlayStation 2 license agreements and more than 400 software titles are currently in development world-wide. Backing has also been strong among tool and middleware developers, whose products ensure an environment in which software developers can create the very best entertainment content for PlayStation2.

To date a record-breaking 74 million PlayStation units have been shipped world-wide and over 3 million PlayStation 2 units have shipped in Japan since 4th March 2000, making it one of the most successful consumer electronic product launches of all time.

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