At a developers conference in Tokyo, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. showed off its next-generation game console, known widely as the PlayStation 2.

A price and a name for the new machine were not announced at the conference. The system will be released in Japan in the first quarter of next year, followed by a U.S. release in fall, 2000.

Sony confirmed the use of DVD as the storage medium for the next system, and indicated that developers will likely begin producing games on CD, later making the move to DVDs as consumer demand dictates. Rumors of backward compatibility were confirmed by Sony officials and cheered by attendees.

The system will not improve the graphics of current PlayStation games, but it will be 100 percent compatible with PS1's games. It will include a modem, but details of how fast that modem will be have not been finalized.

The full story is posted online at www.gamespot.com .