At a local conference, Sony's Phil Harrison hints at future voice control and pack-in software

Sony Computer Entertainment America showed off its hot new PlayStation demos again to a crowded room of microprocessor designers on Monday at Stanford University. What was surprising is that Phil Harrison, SCEA's Vice President of Research and Development, hinted at two new aspects of PlayStation 2 that few demos have covered so far: voice recognition software and pack-in software.

According to Harrison, who spoke to a crowd of stunned and intrigued programmers and designers, voice control of the game console is a definite possibility. While he wouldn't go into any further detail, the idea isn't new and both of Sony's rivals are looking into the same concept. Sega are toying with the idea right now and have set up strategic partnerships with cable and phone companies in Japan. Nintendo actually pioneered the idea for videogames with the Japanese Nintendo 64 Pikachu Genki Dechu, a game with true voice recognition.

Harrison also explained that Sony are looking into a Print Shop kind of software that uses digital imaging. "The PlayStation 2 may ship with software enabling users to import photographs from a digital camera," Harrison began. "Users can animate these in 3D, add sounds and email them to their family or friends, just like a greeting card."

SCEA's President Ken Kutaragi made bold statements about the PlayStation 2. "The PlayStation 2 is just the first step," he said. He went on to say that it will open up new genres of entertainment, beyond what today's videogames are like. "The impact will be beyond our imagination."

During the conference many of the same demos shown at the Game Developers Conference, E3, and in Tokyo, were displayed again. Among these were the Rubber Ducky and the virtual forest demo, which showed individual leaves moving in a breeze.

PlayStation 2 is set to debut at the Tokyo Game Show in September 1999.

Courtesy of IGN.com