|
3D graphics chips market to soar
United Press International - August 06, 1997 08:54
%FINANCIAL %US %GRAPHICS V%UPI P%UPI
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 6 (UPI) - A new study by Jon Peddie Associates
shows the market for 3D graphics chips has taken off, thanks to the
growth of the entertainment software industry.
Consumers are seeing 3D games and CD-ROM titles designed for the
personal computer with more realism and more compelling experiences than
ever before.
The commercial market is also fueling the demand for 3D graphics
chips.
The study predicts that 42 million 3D graphics chips will shipped
this year into the PC market, up from nearly 16 million chips in 1996.
The group, which tracks digital media technologies, says at current
projected growth rates, the 3D market will double in 1998 to over 80
million chips, and by 2000 the number will be over 140 million.
JPA predicts there will be some 260 games with 3D capabilities by the
end of this year.
Jon Peddie, head of JPA says manufacturers are driving technology up
and as a result prices are coming down quickly because the stakes are so
high.
Peddie says in a couple of years, 3D graphics will be as ubiquitous
as 2D and color, and no chip vendor would want to miss out on having a
piece of this market.
The study shows both Microsoft and Intel are driving 3D adoption on
the PC platform because they realize that real-time 3D graphics is
exciting to watch, and highly interactive.
The home computer is the high-end multimedia platform, and PCs
without 3D technology are going to be out of the running in the retail
market.
For business and commercial applications, the study says demand is
driven by the migration of UNIX workstation CAD and content creation
applications to Windows NT.
Small to mid-size companies which cannot afford to support
proprietary workstations, and large companies looking to complement
their existing UNIX installations, are the chief buyers of Windows NT
workstations.
Peddie says everyone wants the kind of 3D graphics available on a
Silicon Graphics workstation at PC prices.
--
Copyright 1997 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
--
|
