Nvidia secure deal with Sony
Sony's highly anticipated console, the Playstation 3, hasn't even hit the shops, and already there's talk of the Playstation 4.
Reuters have reported that NVIDIA, who designed the Playstation 3's graphics chip, have signed a lucrative deal with Sony that will , "pay more than it earned for creating the graphics processor for the upcoming PlayStation 3 video game console."
NVIDIA were paid 30 million dollars for their part in the making of the PS3, so it stands to reason that this contract must be for something just as big, if not bigger.
NVIDIA's chief financial officer, Marv Burkett, would not reveal the product that they will be working on. He told Reuters, "We have a contract to do engineering work for them. I don't think I should discuss what that product is."
The father of Playstation, Mr. Ken Kutargi, spoke with the BBC back in November last year and confirmed that the Playstation 4 would be with us in the next decade, “My dream, and the dream of all my team, hasn’t finished. In fact we haven’t achieved even half of what we’re going to do. We want to lead with the PlayStation 3, and beyond that to the PlayStation 4 within the next decade.”
It's not unreasonable to think that Sony are already planning the PS4, they won't want to get caught lagging behind Microsoft again!
Sony's PSP2 is also in the pipeline, so perhaps NVIDIA have secured a bit of handheld action. The PSP2 is said to be pencilled in for a 2008-2009 release.
NVIDIA could also be working on a number of Sony products simultaneously, which would make more sense considering the possible figures involved. However, Burkett's comment seems to suggest that it is a single product rather than numerous ones.
Source: Reuters
