SCEI confirm their plans to allow PlayStation2 owners in Japan to download games in 2001

Sony Computer Entertainment have confirmed their plans to start a business that enables PS2 owners to download games and information via cable network television (CATV), starting in February 2001 in Japan.

In order to do this, Japanese PlayStation2 owners will have to purchase a separate PS2 hard drive and PS2 cable modem. Sony have yet to reveal their pricing plans for either the hard drive or modem.

With both peripherals on hand, PS2 owners will be able to go to participating online retailers, such as Sony's own PlayStation.com (Japan), and electronically purchase and download games for their system.

The PS2 hard drive will have a capacity of about 25Gb, which is roughly 50 times the size of a standard CD-ROM. This means that players could store up to 50 or more games on the hard drive, although the number of games that you'll be able to save will ultimately depend on the size of each game.

According to Sony's spokesperson, users will be able to download smaller games in a mere 10 to 20 minutes, while larger games could take up to a few hours. In addition to SCEI, other top PlayStation2 publishers, such as Namco and Enix, are reportedly planning on participating with this e-commerce plan.

We'll have more information on Sony's e-commerce plans, the PS2 hard drive and the PS2's cable modem as it becomes available.

Courtesy of IGN.com