by Playfuls Staff |
8th September 2006
IBM confirmed it has shipped the
first microprocessors that will be used to power Nintendo's upcoming Wii video
game console, according to AP. The terms of deal were not disclosed. "The
first chips are in our possession," said Genyo Takeda, Nintendo's senior
managing director and general manager of its [more] integrated research and
development division, in a statement, quoted by EETimes. "Today's
milestone marks the final stage of our drive to reach both core and
nontraditional gamers with an inviting, inclusive and remarkable gaming
experience."
Nintendo promised to launch it
next-gen gaming console until the end of the year, but a certain release date
and price haven't been announced.
But some analysts claims that
there are good reasons to consider September or early October as favorable
launch dates for Wii. Besides being less expensive than the competitors’
products (Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft X BOX 360, which are dubbed as
“next-gen” consoles) Wii is also “faster”, since PS3 launch-date is established
for 17 November 2006. Few days ago Sony was forced to postpone the European
launch of its PlayStation 3 due to some problems with Blu-Ray drives.
According to the story published
by Joystiq, an interview with Ron Martino, director of IBM Technology
Collaboration Solutions, stated that the processor in the Wii is "20
percent more power efficient. It also performs significantly better..." when
comparing it to the Nintendo GameCube.
In June Japanese entertainment
giant Nintendo announced that it expects to sell at least 6 million pieces of
its new gaming console Wii by the end of March 2007, and with it, at least 17
million units of Wii software.
Nevertheless, according to
company's president Satoru Iwata, the company's profit will not rise
significantly after Wii's awaited release if these targets are met within the
specified time.
Nintendo plans to expand its
market share by attracting users to a different kind of gaming, letting Sony
and Microsoft fight for the so-called supremacy in the next-generation console
war and surging silently into their revenues by making fun more widely
accessible.
