Nvidia Partners with Sony on PS3 GPU

Anonymous Coward writes "Just a rumour last year, but it looks like Sony and Nvidia will be partnering for the PS3. Sony will be doing the manufacturing in one of their Nagasaki plants." From the article: "The move signals a shifting of allegiances for NVIDIA, who developed the graphics hardware at the heart of the original Microsoft Xbox, only for the Redmond-based platform holder to turn around and partner with fierce rivals ATI for 'future Xbox products' last August."

Comments

Re:So...

[dackroyd]

Why bother emulating it when you could simply license from Intel a mobileP3

Because that would add cost to each Xbox2 sold.

Since ideally the GPU of the xbox was made to MS specs they can give the info to ATI

The graphics chip was designed by nvidia who licenses Microsoft to manufacture the chips, but not any derivatives. To make another chip that was backwars compatible Microsoft would need to pay nvdia more license fees to cover the patents which again would add to the cost of the xbox 2.

Tada Xbox 2 is backwards compatible with a few minor code tweaks and hardware adjustments.
Except that the Xbox2 probably won't have a hard drive.

Why does everyone think this is going to be so hard?

You are wrong because:

Anything You Don't Understand is Easy to Do.
Example: If you have the right tools, how hard could it be to generate nuclear fission at home?

NEOtaku17, look at the dates!

[Anonymous Coward]

[NEOtaku17] This completely debunks the myth that is this Slashdot article.

Look at the date of the article in the link you provided, NEOtaku17. It was September 1, 2003.

Now look at this press release from nvidia
( http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_17342.html):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TOKYO and SANTA CLARA, CA--DECEMBER 7, 2004--Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) and NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) today announced that the companies have been collaborating on bringing advanced graphics technology and computer entertainment technology to SCEI's highly anticipated next-generation computer entertainment system. Both companies are jointly developing a custom graphics processing unit (GPU) incorporating NVIDIA's next-generation GeForce(TM) and SCEI's system solutions for next-generation computer entertainment systems featuring the Cell* processor.

This collaboration is made under a broad, multi-year, royalty-bearing agreement. The powerful custom GPU will be the graphics and image processing foundation for a broad range of applications from computer entertainment to broadband applications. The agreement will encompass future Sony digital consumer electronics products.

"In the future, the experience of computer entertainment systems and broadband-ready PCs will be fused together to generate and transfer multi-streams of rich content simultaneously. In this sense, we have found the best way to integrate the state-of-the-art technologies from NVIDIA and SCEI," said Ken Kutaragi, executive deputy president and COO, Sony Corporation, and president and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Our collaboration includes not only the chip development but also a variety of graphics development tools and middleware, essential for efficient content creation."

"We are thrilled to partner with Sony Computer Entertainment to build what will certainly be one of the most important computer entertainment and digital media platforms of the twenty-first century," added Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO, NVIDIA. "Over the past two years NVIDIA has worked closely with Sony Computer Entertainment on their next-generation computer entertainment system. In parallel, we have been designing our next-generation GeForce GPU. The combination of the revolutionary Cell processor and NVIDIA's graphics technologies will enable the creation of breathtaking imagery that will surprise and captivate consumers."

The custom GPU will be manufactured at Sony Group's Nagasaki Fab2 as well as OTSS (joint fabrication facility of Toshiba and Sony).