IBM Ships 50 Millionth Wii Processor

by Marco Chiappetta — Sunday, March 15, 2009, 04:05 PM EDT

IBM Ships 50 Millionth Processor for the Nintendo Wii Game System

EAST FISHKILL, NY - 13 Mar 2009: IBM (NYSE: IBM) has announced that it has reached a significant milestone as the microprocessor supplier for Nintendo Co., Ltd., by completing the shipment of 50 million processors for the Wii(TM) game system, which has tremendous worldwide sales momentum.

IBM first began supplying the processors that serve as the digital heartbeat for Nintendo's Wii in 2006, as part of a multi-year, custom microprocessor design and production agreement. The chips are manufactured at IBM's advanced chip fabrication facility in East Fishkill, N.Y. IBM's worldwide supply chain supported consistent, dependable module deliveries and met strong consumer demand for the Wii console, including through three high-demand holiday seasons.

The chip is based on IBM's Power Architecture® and features IBM's silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. IBM's Power Architecture is a semiconductor design platform that offers clients scalability and design customization, while SOI can offer improvements in both chip performance and reduced power consumption, providing energy savings advantages. Microprocessors based on IBM's Power Architecture and SOI technology span applications including, gaming, consumer electronics, networking, computer storage and servers.

IBM partnered with Nintendo to develop and manufacture in volume a custom-designed, high-performance microprocessor to support Nintendo's goals of participatory game play and a compact, energy efficient console.

"We are proud to have achieved this important milestone in supplying the microprocessor for Nintendo's Wii system, which has brought millions of new consumers to the gaming experience," said Brian Connors, vice president, games and power platforms for IBM Microelectronics. "IBM has a long, successful relationship with Nintendo combining silicon technology with game system creativity to deliver winning products."

"We value IBM's ongoing technology contributions and commitment to Nintendo," said Genyo Takeda, general manager of integrated research and development, Nintendo Co., Ltd. "IBM's Power Architecture provided a flexible platform for developing a custom processor to enable the Wii console's unique design, and IBM has been a valued partner for the processors in support of the growing demand for the Wii."

Tags: IBM, processor, Wii. Nintendo

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com

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