Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) plans to buy 19% stake in Japanese game maker Square as part of Yen 14.9 billion ($124.4 million) deal. Sony, which currently holds no stake in Square, will buy 11.2 million newSquare shares at $11 each. Deal, expected to close Oct. 26, would make SCE 2nd-largest shareholder in Square. Companies plan to collaborate on online games as well as titles for Sony’s PlayStation 2.

FCC’s new DTV Task Force should make cable role in transition its top priority, CEA Pres. Gary Shapiro said. CEA said critical DTV issues include cable interoperability, competitive retail market for cable set-tops, HDTV programming. CEA projected consumer investment in DTV products would reach $5 billion by year end, and said sales of DTV sets and monitors would top one million units by end of year, 2 million by end of 2002.

Full program of events sponsored by Assn. for Independent Music (AFIM) will be featured at NARM convention next March 9-12 at San Francisco Marriott. NARM Pres. Pamela Horovitz said “preserving the vitality” of independent music market was “very important to the music retailing community” that NARM served. AFIM Chmn. Clay Pasternak said trade groups would continue to maintain separate hq and memberships, but combining trade shows into single convention “seemed to be a great idea” because of their “natural synergy.”

Electronic Arts updated its recently opened James Bond 007 in… Agent Under Fire Web site. Game of same name is to ship Nov. 13.