Electronics and entertainment conglomerate Sony Corp. on Thursday unveiled a range of development tools so software companies can develop games for its next-generation PlayStation 3 video game console. The company said it acquired Britain"s SN Systems Ltd. and formed strategic alliances with U.S.-based Ageia Technologies Inc., Havok and Epic Games to provide more tools.
Having led the worldwide console gaming market for the last decade, Sony is counting on PlayStation 3 to dominate in all aspects of networked home entertainment -- games, movies, music and more. The company had said in May at the Electronic Entertainment Expo that it planned to launch PlayStation 3 in 2006, but there had been concern in the development community about the immense cost of creating games with movie-quality graphics for a machine with unparalleled processing speed.