Reporting live from Tokyo:

BY KURT HANSON
Sony launched its innovative new PlayStation2 game machine in Japan over the weekend with apparent great success, apparently selling hundreds of thousands of units -- perhaps even a million of them -- and generating widespread public excitement.

As I visited Tokyo's Akihabara electronics shopping district on Saturday, the day of PlayStation2's official release, there were promotions going on at virtually all the major stores and stacks of the blue PlayStation2 boxes were on display everywhere.

"Sony expects PlayStation 2 to be much more than a game," wrote the Far Eastern Economic Review last week. "Unlike its predecessor, the brainy PS2 has a top-of-the-line DVD player for viewing full-length movies, and multiple ports for easy access to the Internet or add-ons such as a computer hard-disk drive.

"Most important, the machine has the potential to serve as a platform rivalling the primacy of the personal computer.

"The PS2's powerful microprocessor can be hooked up to a VCR, cable TV, or computer devices such as a keyboard, mouse or printer. That could one day make the PS2 an indispensable part of everyday life...

"To prevent the PS2 from following in the footsteps of recent flops such as the Sega Saturn, Sony has outfitted the sleek, jet-black PS2 with 100 times more brainpower than its homely grey predecessor. Under the hood is a 128-bit microchip that can handle graphics three times as fast as Intel's latest Pentium III processor for PCs..."

"Sony officials are confident the debut of PS2 will increase demand for high-speed, high-volume information pipelines and spur installation of cable networks."

The device, as noted above, already includes a DVD player; Internet access is expected to be added early next year via third-party modems. Read the full story quoted above in the Far Eastern Economic Review here, or read a Reuters article here.



Apparently the advanced graphic-accelerator microchips in the PlayStation2 qualify it as a low-end supercomputer and, as a result, the Japanese government has declared it a controlled export. (This is under rules that try to keep high-tech equipment out of countires that might use it to develop advanced weaponry.)

On the other hand, some experts are saying to the press that this could just be a combination of copyright protection efforts and marketing hype.





Here are a few "local color" items plus a preview of some of the stories we'll be covering in RAIN later this week, as we report live this week from Tokyo:


Tourists who arrive at Narita Airport are greeted by a sophisticated electronic signboard showing traffic conditions on the various routes into and through Tokyo and estimated travel times.







Music licensing issues are currently getting in the way of Webcasting in Japan, I've learned.

However, here's an Internet-only broadcaster we'll look later this week.




The MiniDisc format is an extremely popular music format in Japan (for home taping, at any rate) and most users like to keep their MD player inside a pocket or backpack and use the supplied remote control for song selection and volume control. This new Sony model incorporates a wireless remote control within a stylish watch.


Chicago Tribune Tokyo bureau chief and RAIN reader Michael Lev is joined by his wife, Carla, for a rendition of the Goo Goo Dolls hit "Slide" at a Roppongi-area karaoke stage bar on Friday night. Both Levs were active in college radio at Northwestern University's WNUR/Evanston, alongside Arbitron's Pierre Bouvard.



J-Wave/Tokyo morning man Jon Kabira has established his own website -- a discussion forum for topics of interest to his target audience.

It's an interesting and unique concept, I believe.

Details and an exclusive interview later this week in RAIN.




More coming soon as RAIN reports live from Tokyo all this week.

Have questions, comments, or suggestions regarding Japan? E-mail me here.







From ZDNet News: "Everyone is talking about wireless meeting up with the Internet, and the buzz was deafening at last week's Wireless 2000 trade show in New Orleans. Executives of marquee companies were hot to make predictions, but whether the meeting between the two will be a smooth, peaceful summit or a head-on collision remains to be seen. 'If you look five to 10 years out, almost all of e-commerce will be on wireless devices,' said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com..."

Read the full article in ZDNet News here.



Reprinted from RAIN's weekend edition:

From Entertainment Wire: "On Saturday, March 4, world-renowned musical icon The Artist [Formerly Known as Prince] proudly unveils his brand new website NPGonlineLTD.com, reinforcing his role as the first musical artist to recognize the Internet's valuable role in an independent artist's career.

"Concurrent with this debut, the prestigious Soul Train Awards will honor The Artist's history as the most prolific artist-composer-producers of our time by bestowing him with the Artist of the Decade Award (Male) during the Soul Train Awards telecast on March 4th. Adding to the thrills of the day, VH-1 will grace our airwaves with The Artist's New Year's Eve pay per view concert RAVE UN2 THE YEAR 2000 at 10pm.

"The launch of NPGonlineLTD.com sustains The Artist's breakthrough use of the Internet as a homebase for his groundbreaking music, revolutionary political views, unique philosophies and up-to-the-minute news. Slick and gorgeous, the new site is not only the ultimate fan site, it is weighty in political and social views unique to The Artist.

"The site will also link to Paisley Park studios and his other two sites --1800newfunk.com the retail stop and Love4Oneanother.com which focuses on The Artist's charitable work. 'It's my hope that NPGonlineLTD.com will become a place where all creators who seek and desire true artistic freedom will come and express their views. The voices of change are always welcome here,' comments The Artist.

Update: The site is up! Click screenshot at right to visit it. (You know The Artist Formerly Known as Prince is involved when the opening message uses the following distinctive spelling: "This site uses JAVA SCRIPT & FLASH 4. If u do not c the animation above or hear audio, u need FLASH 4, click here."

Part Two:

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