Cheers nextyxp. Now that its blockbuster game console PlayStation 2 is hooked up to the Internet, Sony is ready to upgrade the machine further so it can record television shows.
"Our thinking is that it would be more convenient for consumers to enjoy home networking and manage broadcasting content as well," Kenichi Fukunaga, spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment, the Sony subsidiary that developed the PlayStation, told Reuters on Thursday.
Sony has been trying to transform PlayStation 2, which has sold 40 million units globally, into a home entertainment hub allowing users to shop online and store music or movies.
The new product enabling TV programs to be stored on a hard disk could give Sony an edge over its rival Microsoft, which is also eying the home entertainment business as an untapped source of revenue.
Fukunaga said Sony Computer Entertainment may offer tuner kits that would contain hardware to receive broadcasting signals, hard disks and software to run recording devices.
Sony may also roll out a new PlayStation 2 that has a built-in tuner and other necessary functions.