With the most powerful and heavily-configured personal computers going first into the home these days, Hitachi Ltd realizes that there’s real money to be made in fun and games. Accordingly, the company is to set up a new division that will draw on all its professional product lines to make games arcade and theme park equipment. It will draw on basic technology from its computer, video and industrial machinery divisions, and eventually aims to build and sell a modest $100m of such equipment a year. The new department will initially focus on tapping Hitachi’s computer graphics and virtual reality technology to develop large games machines, and large video systems for use in theme parks and museums.
