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http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/32341.html
ATI confirms Xbox 2 win
By Tony Smith
Posted: 14/08/2003 at 13:56 GMT
ATI has confirmed that it has won the contract to develop graphics
chips for the next generation of Microsoft's Xbox console.
The announcement ends speculation that the company had wrested the
Xbox gig from its arch-rival, Nvidia.
"We selected ATI after reviewing the top graphics technologies in
development and determining that ATI's technical vision fits perfectly
with the future direction of Xbox," said Robbie Bach, senior VP of the
Home and Entertainment Division at Microsoft, in the official
statement.
However, it's widely believed that Microsoft and Nvidia simply
couldn't reach an agreement over the direction the project would take.
"[Nvidia] didn't want to meet Microsoft's demands for the floating
design of Xbox Next. It didn't make sense to partner on the project.
At this moment in time, ATI is working with Microsoft," an Nvidia
staffer said in June, according to Spong.com, which first broke the
story.
The fact that Nvidia and Microsoft fell out over how much the latter
should have paid for the former's graphics and system chips may also
have played a part in the drama.
The highly competitive and price-sensitive nature of the console
market required Microsoft to be flexible on price. Nvidia is believed
to have been decidedly inflexible when it came to helping the software
giant achieve its pricing goals. Microsoft wanted to pay less for its
chips than originally agreed, but Nvidia (quite understandably) stuck
to its guns.
ATI already has a deal to provide Nintendo with graphics chips for
GameCube, but the fact that Xbox has the potential to out-sell the
Nintendo machine may well have persuaded ATI that it can risk
offending its Japanese partner by working with a direct competitor.
To date, Nintendo has shipped some ten million GameCubes since the
console's 2001 launch. By contrast, Sony has shipped over 51 million
Playstation 2s since 2000. Microsoft has sold nearly ten million
Xboxes since its launch in November 2001.
Nintendo's decision to suspend GameCube production until the autumn
suggests the console is in trouble, doubly so when accompanied by the
company's admission that it failed to secure a good line up of titles
for the machine. Production will only resume if Nintendo can sell off
a good proportion of its warehouse stock. ®
ATI confirms Xbox 2 win
By Tony Smith
Posted: 14/08/2003 at 13:56 GMT
ATI has confirmed that it has won the contract to develop graphics
chips for the next generation of Microsoft's Xbox console.
The announcement ends speculation that the company had wrested the
Xbox gig from its arch-rival, Nvidia.
"We selected ATI after reviewing the top graphics technologies in
development and determining that ATI's technical vision fits perfectly
with the future direction of Xbox," said Robbie Bach, senior VP of the
Home and Entertainment Division at Microsoft, in the official
statement.
However, it's widely believed that Microsoft and Nvidia simply
couldn't reach an agreement over the direction the project would take.
"[Nvidia] didn't want to meet Microsoft's demands for the floating
design of Xbox Next. It didn't make sense to partner on the project.
At this moment in time, ATI is working with Microsoft," an Nvidia
staffer said in June, according to Spong.com, which first broke the
story.
The fact that Nvidia and Microsoft fell out over how much the latter
should have paid for the former's graphics and system chips may also
have played a part in the drama.
The highly competitive and price-sensitive nature of the console
market required Microsoft to be flexible on price. Nvidia is believed
to have been decidedly inflexible when it came to helping the software
giant achieve its pricing goals. Microsoft wanted to pay less for its
chips than originally agreed, but Nvidia (quite understandably) stuck
to its guns.
ATI already has a deal to provide Nintendo with graphics chips for
GameCube, but the fact that Xbox has the potential to out-sell the
Nintendo machine may well have persuaded ATI that it can risk
offending its Japanese partner by working with a direct competitor.
To date, Nintendo has shipped some ten million GameCubes since the
console's 2001 launch. By contrast, Sony has shipped over 51 million
Playstation 2s since 2000. Microsoft has sold nearly ten million
Xboxes since its launch in November 2001.
Nintendo's decision to suspend GameCube production until the autumn
suggests the console is in trouble, doubly so when accompanied by the
company's admission that it failed to secure a good line up of titles
for the machine. Production will only resume if Nintendo can sell off
a good proportion of its warehouse stock. ®