OT++, for technical look at next gen. Nintendo
--Matsushita allies with Nintendo on next-generation game console--
After several failed attempts at partnerships for game-console storage media, Nintendo Co. Ltd. has forged an alliance with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. The deal will help Nintendo gain access to key DVD technology for its next-generation game console, which is scheduled to hit the market by the end of
2000. At the same time, Nintendo said the forthcoming game machine will use a custom PowerPC from IBM (see story, above), an undisclosed high-bandwidth memory architecture and a 0.18-micron custom graphics chip with embedded DRAM to be manufactured by NEC Corp. Executives from Nintendo and Matsushita billed their alliance as a comprehensive development agreement spanning not only game consoles but also networked digital consumer products.
edtn.com
--IBM grabs next Nintendo system win--
In a stunning coup for its new Pervasive Computing strategy, IBM Microelectronics has won the design for the next-generation Nintendo game console ICs. The estimated $1 billion win, snatched from the jaws of long-time Nintendo partner NEC Corp., has the potential to make IBM the dominant figure in ASICs at the
0.18-micron generation, and to establish the PowerPC as the highest-volume RISC processor. The new Nintendo system-code-named Dolphin-will rely on two key chips. The first chip, Gekko, will be a highly-customized PowerPC CPU and memory device, and the second will be a graphics engine. The CPU chip is being designed by IBM, and the graphics chip by startup ArtX Inc. The chips are expected to tape out shortly, on schedule for a Nintendo product launch in time for the year-2000 holiday season.
edtn.com
Jim |
