Sonic and Mario: run for cover. Plans for Sony's follow-up to No. 1 game console PlayStation are out of the bag and it looks like the new millennium isn't going to be any easier for rivals Nintendo and, especially, Sega, whose own next-gen box, Dreamcast, now looks wimpy in comparison. Set for a U.S. release in fall 2000, the unofficially named PlayStation 2 boasts a plethora of technological riches: a 128-bit Emotion Engine processor powerful enough to manipulate cinema-quality 3-D graphics (think Toy Story) in real time, a DVD drive, Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound, backward compatibility with today's PlayStation games, and support for digital TV.
If this techno-geek laundry list sounds a bit much just for a future version of Crash Bandicoot, you're right. Sony, which predicts PlayStation 2 will become ''one of the pillars of Sony's business,'' obviously has grander visions. In addition to an on-board modem, the PlayStation may be able to play DVD movies and will support the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard, which will make connecting future gizmos like digital cameras and set-top boxes a snap. For now, it poses no threat to the family PC and other household devices, but who knows what kinds of convergence lie ahead? Twenty years from now, PlayStation 6 may be brewing your morning cup of coffee...
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