Sega, Nintendo Team Up To Create New Graphics Board

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Sega, Nintendo Team Up To Create New Graphics Board

Posted by Hemos on Thursday February 21, 2002 @04:50AM from the making-things-look-pretty dept.

TimWeigel writes "The Daily Yomiuri is reporting that Sega, Nintendo and Namco are teaming up to create a new commercial graphics board. This new board, the Triforce (tip o' the hat to all the Zelda fans), will reportedly be based on the hardware in the GameCube. The article indicates it will be targeted towards new game consoles, as well as "similar products". A prototype is scheduled to be demonstrated at the 2002 AOU Amusement Expo on 22 Feb."

18 of 277 comments (clear)

Well at least they are not calling it... by Tide · 2002-02-21 04:53 · Score: 3, Funny

the Pikachu

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People think Microsoft is the answer. Microsoft is just the question, "No" is the answer.
1. Re:Well at least they are not calling it... by CaseyB · 2002-02-21 06:18 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Smeargle is the painter Pokemon
  Until he was corrupted by the One Pokeball. Twisted and evil, he is now known as Gorrum.
Intresting, but is it really useful? by LordZardoz · 2002-02-21 04:54 · Score: 3, Insightful

There are two possibilties. I can see this being used to make it easier to port Sega's and Namco's arcade titles to the GameCube. It may also be used to play GameCube games on other platforms.

But console games, especially Nintendo's, are targeted at their controller. So playing the games on different hardware could be a useless endeavor.

Other then a few development bonuses, I dont really see the upshot.

Besides, Sega has a horrible track record with Hardware.

END COMMUNICATION
1. Re:Intresting, but is it really useful? by doctor_oktagon · 2002-02-21 04:59 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Sega has a horrible track record with Hardware?
  
  You've either been smokin crack or have obviously never played either a Sega arcade game or a Dreamcast. The Dreamcast graphics are still almost a match for a PS2 and developers used to enjoy coding for it, as it was so easy and geared towards them.
  
  Sega don't have a good record in MARKETING. But that's different.
  
  Sony are the MS of the console world: they killed the Dreamcast through FUD.
  
  Arcade games usually have extreme controllers, but many of them were sucessfully ported to many different home consoles, so that's another fallacy.
2. Re:Intresting, but is it really useful? by .pentai. · 2002-02-21 05:33 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  that would be the Model 2 and Model 3...
  Sega AM2 is one of Sega's 10 software teams along with Sonic Team, Sega Rosso, WOW Entertainment, Hitmaker, Wavemasters (GODS of video game music), Overworks, Amusement Vision, Smilebit, and UGA.
The real question... by FortKnox · 2002-02-21 04:58 · Score: 3, Funny

... is this the triforce of power, courage, or wisdom?!?!?

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Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Re:Force by Rentar · 2002-02-21 05:01 · Score: 4, Funny

Wouldn't the most buzzword compliant name be ForceXP at the moment?
Getting one will be hard by El_Smack · 2002-02-21 05:02 · Score: 4, Funny

I mean, having to journey around, fight Moblins, get the three pieces of the card and THEN assemble it might be more than most consumers are willing to go through.

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There are 01 kinds of cars in the world. The General Lee, and everything else.
ATI? by iotaborg · 2002-02-21 05:02 · Score: 4, Informative

Last I checked the gamecube had an ATI board... so if it is based on the gamecube, wouldn't this new board be an ATI? Where is ATI in the mix of this anyway...
Never thought I'd see the day . . . by micromoog · 2002-02-21 05:06 · Score: 3, Funny

Hell just froze over.
On the other hand, the speed of Sonic with the fire-throwing power of Mario would probably do us all some good . . .
Arcade board, not graphics board by Taurine · 2002-02-21 05:16 · Score: 3, Informative

The story is wrong. Its an arcade board, not a graphics board. This is like a console but for producing arcade games instead, just like there was an arcade version of the Dreamcast sort of (it was of course more powerful), (the Naomi?), and also an arcade version of the PlayStation (the arcade Ridge Racer machine was built on it).
Triforce has probably been around longer by SonicBurst · 2002-02-21 05:17 · Score: 5, Informative

Triforce has been around since the first zelda, circa 1987, IIRC. Anyone know when nvidia came on to the scene? I don't think it was pre-1987.
If that's the case, nvidia probably wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

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Geek used to be a four letter word. Now it's a six-figure one.
Re:ATI? by jacoplane · 2002-02-21 05:20 · Score: 3, Informative

The board "flipper" was actually developed by a company called ArtX, which has since been aquired by ATI.
Dogs and cats! by abischof · 2002-02-21 05:20 · Score: 5, Funny

I think Dr Peter Venkman said it best: "... dogs and cats, living together... mass hysteria!"

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Alex Bischoff
HTML/CSS coder for hire
Re:Force by jacoplane · 2002-02-21 05:22 · Score: 3, Funny

iForceXP.NET
Nice thing about the Triforce by colmore · 2002-02-21 05:38 · Score: 4, Funny

The nice thing about this board will be, after purchasing it, you will be teleported out of Best Buy, and your life will completely refill.

There will also be some interesting effects if you daisy chain 8 of them.

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In Capitalist America, bank robs you!
WARNING: acronym allowance exceeded by perky · 2002-02-21 05:40 · Score: 5, Funny

Dear poster,

Please be warned that you have exceeded your legally mandated acronym allowance for the month of February. Any further acronym usage in the remainder of this month will result in fines accruing.

Additionally in the above post you have exceeded the Maximum Acronym Density (MAD) permissable for a single posting. If you persist in using excessive numbers of Acronyms Capital letters will be forcably removed from your vocabulary.

Regards

Assoc. for National Acronym Reduction and Systematic Elimination

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"The new wave is not value-added; it's garbage-subtracted" - Esther Dyson, Dec 1994
Most likely... by Chasing+Amy · 2002-02-21 05:56 · Score: 4, Insightful

Most likely the graphics board is going to be aimed at the arcade hardware and home entertainment industry market, not the home user. The article is short on information, but don't you think if a card geared toward consumers were being demoed on Feb. 22, that we'd have heard press about it now?

This card most likely has nothing to do with the home segment at all. It will be marketed toard third-party arcade and home entertainment vendors, as well as used for Sega's and Namco's arcade hardware needs. Believe it or not, a lot of the bigger arcade games these days are powered by basically PC's with powerful graphics boards, like the ones of Quantum3D. Heck, 3Dfx got its start with arcade graphics chips, and the Voodoo 2 powered more than just PC's--arcade games as well.

So, I'd bet that this is not the least bit geared towards the end user.

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Chasing Amy
(We all chase Amy...)
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws"-Tacitus