Sony Computer Entertainment has decided it's better to work with Connectix, a developer of software that helps PlayStation games run on PCs, than to fight the company.
Published:
16 March 2001 y., Friday
The companies announced Thursday a joint technology agreement under which they will work together on advanced "emulation" products that will allow PlayStation software to run on other systems. In addition, all legal issues surrounding San Mateo, Calif.-based Connectix's Virtual Game Station software have been resolved.
Sony filed a copyright and patent infringement suit against Connectix in early 1999. Sony argued that because Virtual Game Station allowed PlayStation games to be played on PCs, it was harmful to game publishers, developers, creators and ultimately consumers.
Sony makes a majority of its PlayStation-related revenue from licensing and royalty fees for PlayStation software; the actual consoles are sold at a loss. The same is true of other game manufacturers. But sales of peripherals such as controllers and memory cards help make up a significant revenue stream, and that may be part of the reason Sony has been so adamant about the suit against Connectix according to Gartner analyst P.J. McNealy.
Under the agreement, Sony will acquire Connectix assets related to Virtual Game Station, but Connectix will continue to sell the software for Macintosh and Windows until the end of June. The companies will continue to develop emulation technology.
Competition in the gaming industry is expected to get fierce this year as new consoles from Microsoft and Nintendo are released. However, Sony's PlayStation 2 will have a considerable head start. The consumer electronics giant said it expects to sell 3 million units in the United States by the end of the year and 9 million worldwide.
Šaltinis:
CNET News.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
A specific EU budget line for the new EU stabilisation mechanism should be created as soon as possible, to ensure its credibility, Council, Commission and Parliament negotiators agreed at a three-way meeting on Wednesday.
more »
New EU rule will help phone-users avoid astronomical bills for web-surfing and downloads abroad.
more »
The Communication approved today by the Commission builds on the principles presented on 12 May to reinforce the economic governance in the European Union.
more »
Eurostat report just published shows that the crisis has brought some lower taxes.
more »
New legislation is needed to ensure fair returns to farmers and transparent prices to consumers, by enforcing fair competition throughout the food supply chain, said Agriculture Committee MEPs on Monday.
more »
Fish imports play a crucial role in supplying the European market, yet fisheries and aquaculture are strategic sectors that do not lend themselves to a purely free-trade approach, believes the EP Fisheries Committee.
more »
I will support every proposal that strengthens cooperation among the European Union's Member States and serves Lithuania's interests," President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė said at the meeting with EU Member States' ambassadors resident in Lithuania.
more »
The fourth World Lithuanian Economic Forum “High tech innovation & investment: local to global” will start in London on 22 June.
more »
Lithuania aims for the five Nordic countries and three Baltic States to become single community of values, which would be linked by a versatile quality of democracy, security and everyday life.
more »
MEPs decided on Wednesday to create a special committee to prepare for the EU's next long-term budgetary framework.
more »