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Sony rejects PlayStation3 reports

Wendy McAuliffe ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 29 Jan 2001 12:04 GMT

Japanese electronics manufacturer Sony refused Monday to confirm reports claiming it plans to launch a PlayStation 3 console to rival Microsoft's forthcoming Xbox.

Sony says it does not intend to reveal details of the PS3 just three months after the debut of the PlayStation2 in Europe.

"We have no plans to announce a PS3, as we've only just launched the PS2 -- it would be silly for us to do that now," said a spokesman at Sony UK.

Reports in a UK national newspaper claimed that Sony had speeded up its development of the PS3 in order to compete with the Xbox, unveiled earlier this month. Sony currently holds a 65 percent share of the global home video games market. The Microsoft console, which is expected to go on sale next year, features more powerful graphics than the PS2, but the same £299 price tag.

The spokesman would not confirm any plans for a PS3 but hinted at ongoing work on a new console.

"It's always Sony's intention to investigate new technology," the Sony spokesman explained. "When the first PlayStation launched, we immediately started looking into the technology for a PS2."

Speculation suggested that the new PlayStation model would be 1,000 times faster than the PS2.

What's going on in games? For complete coverage see Gamespot UK.

See Gamespot UK's PlayStation2 channel for full coverage.

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