AirRaid wrote:
> Chip company has spoken to hardware manufacturers, touting new
> processors
>
> Intel, the company responsible for the majority of processors used in
> desktop PCs, has spoken to Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo about what
> chips might power the next round of consoles.
>
>
> http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=31534
>
>
> "Intel, the company who produce countless components and processors
> that hide away in millions of PCs across the world, has begun talks
> already with Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony about providing parts for
> the next-generation of consoles. That's right folks; you simply can't
> use next-gen to describe the 360 anymore, as we're already onto the
> Xbox 720, or whatever it will be called.
>
> When the 360 and it's rivals were built, Intel lost out to IBM, who
> secured console-based work with all the main three manufacturers. This
> time, Intel have got in early, according to Business Week. Speaking to
> the site, a company rep also rather enthusiastically predicted 'hands
> free' controllers that will see you using hand movements to play
> games, though we doubt the humble button will become redundant quite
> so readily.
>
> The good news is that if Intel do get the work, we will be able to
> enjoy a games machine running on chips that can perform an
> unimaginable 1 trillion calculations a second"
>
> http://xboxer.tv/2007/12/next_nextgen_already_under_dis.html
>
>
> "Intel has talked to console video game makers about using chips that
> can perform in excess of 1 trillion calculations per second
> (BusinessWeek.com, 2/12/07) in future products that use cameras to
> track body motion to control the action, instead of using buttons or
> joysticks. "We imagine some future generation of [Nintendo's] Wii
> won't have hand controllers," says Justin Rattner, Intel's chief
> technology officer. "You just set up the cameras around the room and
> wave your hand like you're playing tennis." Intel missed out on
> supplying chips for the current generation of game systems, and is
> trying to gain a foothold there."
>
>
>
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2007/tc20071212_550604.htm
I personally doubt that talking first has anything to do with who gets
the contracts. The vendors will balance cost, performance, and features,
and make a decision based on profit.
That's not a bad thing, but performance is generally not an issue now,
other than people writing brute force solutions because they're gamers,
not programmers, and believe that hardware should make crappy code look
good anyway.
--
Bill Davidsen
He was a full-time professional cat, not some moonlighting
ferret or weasel. He knew about these things.
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