PS2 HARD DISK DRIVE (HDD)

HARD DISK DRIVE UNIT FOR PLAYSTATION 2 GOES ON PRIOR SALE FROM JULY 19, 2001

Tokyo, July 4, 2001 - Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI), the global leader in the computer entertainment world, announced today that it would start the field test to structure the network communication environment through PlayStation2 computer entertainment system from this fall.
Before the commencement of the field test, the Hard Disk Drive unit (HDD unit) for PlayStation 2 will go on pilot sale from July 19, 2001.
The HDD unit is the core system for the various technical investigations and field tests that SCEI conducts for PlayStation 2 connected to the network. The company has already provided the partner publishers and developers with the HDD unit to become a part of their standard development environment in developing game software titles which are available for the HDD unit and the network.
Before the commencement of network field test, SCEI has decided to have the HDD unit on pilot sale so that the users are able to enjoy a number of upcoming titles that are available for the HDD unit. It depends on each title how the HDD unit is used to enhance the game play and content; some uses HDD unit as cache memory to create a more comfortable environment to play games and some can have their content upgraded by downloading additional data onto the HDD unit through appendix disks.

Sony Computer Entertainment Starts Network Field Test Using PlayStation 2 The HDD unit which goes on pilot sale this time consists of a 40GB "Hard Disk Drive" and "Network adapter" which enables PlayStation 2 to connect to the broadband network. Two types of HDD unit will be introduced to make HDD unit available for all PlayStation 2s in the market: "Attachment Type HDD unit" which connects PlayStation 2 (SCPH-10000, SCPH-15000, SCPH-18000) and the network through PC-Card interface, and "Expansion Bay Type HDD unit" which can be placed in the bay of PlayStation 2 (SCPH-30000, SCPH-35000). A stand to vertically hold PlayStation 2 and the attachment type HDD unit will be released at the same time. Together, USB Keyboard for PlayStation 2 and USB mouse for PlayStation 2 will also be released.

Asking for cooperation from the various game software publishers and developers, SCEI will conduct various technical investigations as well as a field test for DNA-S (Dynamic Network Authentication System), a new authentication system developed by SCEI, and investigation on PlayStation 2 network connectivity nationwide.

To provide the customers with as much support as possible, the HDD unit and other products that go on sale this time will be sold through PlayStation.com Japan Inc. (PScom) website (http://www.jp.playstation.com). PScom will start taking orders from July 5, 2001 and the shipment will begin from around July 19, 2001. Details of this order/purchase process will be provided at the same website. The initial shipment is planned for 10,000 units (7,500 for the attachment type and 2,500 for the expansion bay type) and according to the weekly market demands, SCEI will continually manufacture and ship the products.