Sony & NVidia Announce PS3 Agreement News
Chris Leyton
07/12/2004
Sony confirms year long speculation suggesting that NVidia will create the graphics processor for the Playstation3...
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) today announced an agreement with NVidia as we previously speculated back in 2003, with a collaboration to bring advanced graphics technology to the Playstation3.
Both companies are jointly developing a custom graphics-processing-unit (GPU), marking the first time that a Playstation model has used an outsourced graphics processor, having previously created those for the PSOne and Playstation2 internally at Sonyâs R&D centre.
The processor is set to be based around NVidiaâs next-generation GeForce and SCEiâs system solutions for the Playstation3 and future products based around the CELL processor. Whether this is the GeForce 7 series, believed to hit the market in late 2005/early 2006, or a custom built hybrid is currently unknown; however the agreement rekindles NVidiaâs interest in the console market, having previously been âditchedâ by Microsoft in place of ATi for the Xbox2.
The terms of the contract are set out as a broad, multi-year, royalty based agreement, with the powerful custom GPU providing the foundation for a broad range of applications from computer entertainment to broadband applications.
âIn 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,â said Ken Kutaragi, executive deputy president and COO, Sony Corporation, and president and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. âOur collaboration includes not only the chip development but also a variety of graphics development tools and middleware, essential for efficient content creation.â
âWe 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,â added Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO, NVIDIA. âOver 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 NVIDIAâs graphics technologies will enable the creation of breathtaking imagery that will surprise and captivate consumers.â
Weâll have more information soon.