Sony Computer Entertainment

Promising a fundamental change in the consumer electronics landscape, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. demonstrated the technology behind its highly anticipated PlayStation II on Thursday and boasted that the machine will be more powerful than today's high-end personal computers. Sony is still building the machine, so many details about it remain sketchy.

Sony Computer Entertainment announced technical specifications for its next-generation video game console--the company's latest effort to maintain its lead in the video game market. The Foster City, Calif.-based company, the video game unit of Japan's Sony Corp., would not discuss the look or price of the unit, known unofficially as PlayStation II, and scheduled for U.S. release in 2000. It will be four times more powerful than the current PlayStation.

The push for holiday game titles has already started, and Virgin Interactive hopes to grab customers by tweaking its marketing approach. First, the Irvine-based company announced its plans to target younger audiences for its Sony PlayStation titles. (The home-console platform primarily targets males ages 18 to 34.) With the release of "Disney's Hercules Action Game," Virgin and Sony Computer Entertainment America hope to grab the prepubescent and young teen crowd.

Frazzled? Frustrated? Furious? Feeling like an embattled Arnold Schwarzenegger as you scramble to find the elusive Nintendo 64 console to put under the Christmas tree for your video-game-crazed child? It may sound cruel, but to the long-struggling video game industry, your frenzied efforts are a sight for sore eyes. After three years of sluggish sales, video games are staging a major comeback. The new Nintendo machine, released in the U.S.

Re "Fun and Games--and Gore" (Column One, May 12), concerning violence in video games, there are several factors at work. First of all, the almighty dollar seems to take precedence over any sense of value. Second, women and children are undervalued in our society. These insidious, misogynistic games are designed by men and targeted at boys. To the president of Sony Computer Entertainment who disclaims responsibility for being "keeper of the American value system"--just try being a parent today, with the disgusting trash we get from TV, movies, advertising and video games.