Official: ATI in XBox Next

[zurich]

Hey, with the PS2, you can tell which team suck at programming games(I.E. bad performances) or doing ports.

As for ArtX, aren't they based in California? Where the other team is in Montreal? I doubt they relocated anyone.

I don't think ATI has a Montreal team, their HQ is in Toronto.

 

[RaolinDarksbane]

I don't think ATI has a Montreal team, their HQ is in Toronto.

My mistake, but still..... how many employee would be willing to move to another country? From the warm state to cold Toronto?

 

[Dave Baumann]

The main 3D technology centers are now Cali and Marlborough. Markham (Toronto) is the HQ with the functions you'd expect that the HQ as well as board labs and the consumer development is done there.

 

[zidane1strife]

AHH!! Yes, exactly what we need, only one major graphics company. Im sure they wont act anywhere like IBM did in the 80's or like AT&T when they were the only game in town.

Dude, It's been yrs since I first foresaw their demise, companies fell and companies rose...

When(And if) they disappear, new challengers will arise, or Ati will be split(hopefully ).

 

[zurich]

AHH!! Yes, exactly what we need, only one major graphics company. Im sure they wont act anywhere like IBM did in the 80's or like AT&T when they were the only game in town.

Dude, It's been yrs since I first foresaw their demise, companies fell and companies rose...

When(And if) they disappear, new challengers will arise, or Ati will be split(hopefully ).

Yup, NVIDIA is going the way of the Dodo, what with their leading marketshare and cash reserves et al. :?

 

[keegdsb]

Since there aren't really any new challengers, I hope the old ones wake up and try to get out of their niches, regardless of where NV is headed...

 

[zurich]

Since there aren't really any new challengers, I hope the old ones wake up and try to get out of their niches, regardless of where NV is headed...

If anything happens, the market will just polarize like it did with Intel and AMD, with an 800lb gorilla and a 20 pound fiesty chimp

 

[cybamerc]

ATI has plenty of motherboard experiece. Of course, it mostly comes from ArtX but they are hardly novices eventhough they've yet to ship a chipset for PC.

 

[Dave Baumann]

FYI - ATI have had an integrated chipset for a couple of years. Although the chipset didn't do anything in desktop it has captured about 50% of the integrated mobile space, and if you go through the financials you'll work out that they are actually shifting more than NVIDIA shift nForce's.

 

[keegdsb]

Since there aren't really any new challengers, I hope the old ones wake up and try to get out of their niches, regardless of where NV is headed...

If anything happens, the market will just polarize like it did with Intel and AMD, with an 800lb gorilla and a 20 pound fiesty chimp

For some reason, fiesty chimp was just hilarious to me

 

[Fox5]

Who could enter the high end 3d graphics market?
Intel could bring back their chipsets....
3dlabs is doing something.
Matrox almost looked liked they wanted to make a comeback.
Imgtech is content not to do much.
Bitboys seems to have quieted down, but I figure they'll announce several new products in the future and never release any.
Some former 3dfx employees might be hanging around a bar somewhere...

 

[arhra]

Imgtech is content not to do much.

I dunno, certain people round these parts seem quite happy to drop hints and ambiguously abuse smilies *cough*kristof*cough*, and given the articles they've contributed to shaderx2, it would certainly appear that they've got a [p|v]s 3.0 part in the works... or course, whether or not it actually makes it to market is another matter...

Somewhat back on topic, i was looking back through the archives, and found this topic, which seems quite scarily plausible...

 

[Megadrive1988]

my take on this:

for MS, ATI will develop a derivative on R500 or R550 for XBOX 2

for Nintendo, ATI is developing an evolution of Flipper, much like Flipper was an evolution of N64's RCP.

 

[Megadrive1988]

If Nvidia even helps with GS3 it's going to be something little like shader support or some development tools, it's not going to be as huge as a full GPU going inside of PS3.

Even little things such as Shader support could help ps3 very much so.

I agree with you Paul.

I also think that if Nvidia has any hand in PS3, it will be moderate to minor.
something like shader or rasterizer features, or parts of the GPU.

what is the absolute most that I think Nvidia would do for PS3?

provide the entire rasterizing portion of the GPU, which would be around 1/2 the GPU, which would be like 25% or less of the entire Playstation 3. It's not like Nvidia would provide a whole Nv40 or Nv50 GPU for PS3, like you said. I think Nvidia's role will be 5-20% of PS3 if they are involved. And right now, there is only hints of that, no solid evidence.

 

[Vince]

Indeed, and not very good news for nVidia. Man, if ATI manages to successfully pull of X-Box, GameCube...AND continue PC technology leadership.....

Besides basic fanperson mentality, how is this not good for nVidia? What good did XBox bring them? Lets see how ATI fares after this whole ordeal, my first thought is that this is a good day for Sony and nVidia (independently of course).

There is only N resources available for IC design at a given company. N resources, due to that whole casuality thing, can only go so far... in so many horizontal directions. Either Sony or nVidia will gain an upperhand by this*. History and proboblility seem to dictate that both will benefit due to negative externalities stemming from said labor ineffeciencies.

Eitherway this complicates the pictures and if I was an investor I would be weary of the prospects from concurrent console development with the PC front facing a resurgence nVidia. Not to mention the legalities (and their repercussions) of said contracts.

As I said before, this is a free get out of jail card for one of these companies... but as I recognize the savoir-faire surrounding ATI, I'll shut up before I get all the loons arguing against me.

* This "upperhand" is defined as the direct result of manpower shifting and the resulting [negaitve] externalities. Either the PC sector will have a normalized loss due to resources shifted external from the group (eg. The Strong-XBox scenario) or the XBox will suffer due to ATI's keeping of resources on the PC sector with the XBox as a minimalist extention of this (Weak-XBox scenario.

 

[whql]

What good did XBox bring them?

19% of their revenue and a financial saviour for this quarter and next in the face of their failing "core" PC business. Plus nForce.

There is only N resources available for IC design at a given company. N resources, due to that whole casuality thing, can only go so far... in so many horizontal directions.

Dave Rolaston (in charge of the artx team) has already stated that it won't divert resources that much. However, those resources are bound to increase - many engineers have already gone from one to the other company and as NVIDIA engineers see their options packages becoming worth increasingly less inevitably some will go a mile down the road to ATI.

Eitherway this complicates the pictures and if I was an investor I would be weary of the prospects from concurrent console development with the PC front facing a resurgence nVidia.

Resurgent? Based on?

 

[Vince]

19% of their revenue and a financial saviour for this quarter and next in the face of their failing "core" PC business. Plus nForce.

If "failing" is kicking your nearest competitors ass in marketshare by almost a multiple of 2 with over 60% of the DX9 market, then yeah... they're failing. heh.

As for the revenue, it's just that. Lets look at long-term profitability in emerging sectors instead, ok? XBox is not one of these.

Dave Rolaston (in charge of the artx team) has already stated that it won't divert resources that much.

As opposed to... "Dave Rolaston publically stated that it will divert resources to a large degree from their PC work." In related news, shares of ATI (NAS: ATYT) fell by 10% today on news from Dave..."

By not diverting a large amount of resources to the project entails that it's fairly static in relation to the PC parts comming online. I don't have much faith.

However, those resources are bound to increase - many engineers have already gone from one to the other company and as NVIDIA engineers see their options packages becoming worth increasingly less inevitably some will go a mile down the road to ATI.

Resurgent? Based on?

You'll see. Time is on my side...

 

[Fox5]

So why can't they just focus almost all resources on a pc chip, and then just make the xbox 2 a pc in a box, and let microsoft worry about the rest?

 

[Vince]

So why can't they just focus almost all resources on a pc chip, and then just make the xbox 2 a pc in a box, and let microsoft worry about the rest?

Sony, IBM, Toshiba. $4Billion dollars.

 

[Joe DeFuria]

Besides basic fanperson mentality, how is this not good for nVidia? What good did XBox bring them?

I would argue it was a significant factor (among other significant factors) that put them into the quasi-leadership position they are in today.

Lets see how ATI fares after this whole ordeal, my first thought is that this is a good day for Sony and nVidia (independently of course).

And you tell me I have fanperson mentality? Lol...

There is only N resources available for IC design at a given company.

And they key to success is successful management of those resources..

Eitherway this complicates the pictures and if I was an investor I would be weary of the prospects from concurrent console development with the PC front facing a resurgence nVidia. Not to mention the legalities (and their repercussions) of said contracts.

Lol...now you're fishing for legel reprecussions of the contracts?

As I said before, this is a free get out of jail card for one of these companies... but as I recognize the savoir-faire surrounding ATI, I'll shut up before I get all the loons arguing against me.

Come off it Vince. Please. This deal is nothing but good news for ATI. That doesn't mean they will ultimately be successful, but it just gives them that much more opportunity.

And be sure to let me know when nVidia "resurges"....