Sony to make online push

Sony to make online push

TOKYO: Japanese electronics giant Sony said on Thursday it would begin selling PlayStation 2 broadband connectivity devices at stores nationwide in May to further move its hugely popular game console online.

By December, seven months after starting its online gaming service in Japan, Sony had sold only 190,000 of its PlayStation BB units, which consist of a hard drive and an adapter, through sales offered solely through Internet service providers.

That compares to the 12.5 million PlayStation 2 users in Japan and 50.4 million worldwide.

The launch of sales of the adapter sets at retail outlets, which will be accompanied by the release of more online titles, is part of the company's drive to encourage use of its machines for Internet gaming.

"We will be selling the adapters at stores so that more users can enjoy our online games," said a spokeswoman for subsidiary Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. -- AFP