Sony-AOL partnership seeks to outfox Microsoft in the coming battle for interactive services

Sony is preparing to announce this week their plans to form a partnership with America Online (AOL), in a move that will link Sony's Playstation 2 computer entertainment system to the Internet. ZDNet reports that this partnership is meant to counter Microsoft's own strategy to bring high-speed communication services to the home with their upcoming Xbox console.

AOL is to develop specialized software that will allow its instant messaging, chat, and e-mail functions to run on the PS2. PS2 gamers should therefor be capable of sending e-mail and chatting with others online from their PS2s whilst gaming, for example (Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast already implements similar features). Sony will incorporate these features into the development kits software developers can use when creating games. Both companies will jointly-develop a web browser for the PS2 based on AOL's Netscape. Sony is hoping to cash in on AOL's brand name, and 29 million user base, whilst helping AOL expand their presence on television sets. Playstation's president Kaz Hirai says that "It's the first step in moving the PlayStation 2 into a broadband environment".

So what will WE need to hook our PS2s up to the Net? Well, consumers will need get a hard drive, keyboard, mouse, and LCD monitor (!) for their PS2 systems before being able to run the AOL functions. Sony and AOL have not yet revealed the fees for making use of AOL functions.