GameCube chip shipments reach 10 million

NEWS IBM plans to announce Friday that it has shipped its 10 millionth processor for Nintendo's GameCube console. The Japanese game giant uses a customised version of IBM's PowerPC processor, dubbed "Gekko," for the GameCube. The console, which was introduced in Japan a year ago, was one of the first consumer-electronics devices to advertise the presence of IBM components. IBM Microelectronics has been working to spread adoption of its PowerPC chip, encouraging manufacturers to use it as the basis for devices ranging from printers to network routers. Nintendo reported sales of 3.8 million GameCube units at the end of its last fiscal year, 30 March, and said it expects to have sold 16 million by the end of the current fiscal year. Rival Sony announced this week that it has sold 40 million of its PlayStation2 game machines. The PS2 is powered by the "Emotion Engine," a custom processor designed by Sony in conjunction with electronics conglomerate Toshiba. Pulling up third in the game-console race is Microsoft's Xbox, which uses a standard version of Intel's Pentium III processor for PCs. Microsoft reported worldwide sales of four million Xbox units as of 30 June. The company expects worldwide sales of 9 million to 11 million by the end of its current fiscal year, 30 June, 2003. While IBM partnered with Nintendo on the GameCube, it's also working with Sony on a chip that is likely to power the next version of the PlayStation. The Cell processor is being jointly developed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba, who have touted it as a "supercomputer on a chip."

See Chips Central for the latest headlines on processors and semiconductors. To find out more about the computers and hardware that these chips are being used in, see ZDNet UK's Hardware News Section. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the Chips Central Forum. Let the Chips Central editor know what you think by email. And sign up for the weekly Chips Central newsletter.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Membership FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

Fedora is the same way as well. The yum update system uses "presto" which shrinks the amount of data needed for download. It's a great system....

6 hours ago by apexwm on Can you believe it - 2765 kB will be freed?

Updated ID cards considered for 2012: [zdnet.co.uk] The government is considering introducing a new generation of ID... http://dlvr.it/KpBZ

6 hours ago on Twitter by cybfor

Google, Viacom trade blows in YouTube copyright spat: [zdnet.co.uk] Google and the US media giant Viacom have issued... http://dlvr.it/Knht

8 hours ago on Twitter by cybfor

Be sure to include an audio option - eg. a beep tone - to intensify and reiterate the action. This will greatly benefit some consumers and give...

8 hours ago by CIMITL

Data disposal is really important to get right. There are standards set by UK and US federal governments to ensure that data is kept secure. If...

8 hours ago by DataSecurityUK

Online Fiber Optic Certification Join a talented group of professionals, who are dedicated to Fiber Optic Networking technology. The online course...

10 hours ago by chaycon1 on BT launches 40Mbps fibre-based broadband

Online Fiber Optic Certification Join a talented group of professionals, who are dedicated to Fiber Optic Networking technology. The online course...

10 hours ago by chaycon1 on Google to build gigabit broadband to the home

Hi Dava, I'm glad to hear from you, and glad that you see things from the other side. I think that is the most important point of the whole...

10 hours ago by J.A. Watson on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) and the Latest Tempest

please please please please please please kill that spam bot.

11 hours ago by dava4444 on ZDNet UK: faster, smarter, still IT all the way

11 hours ago by 253chelisa253 on How security will look in 10 years

it is only greedy[microsoft]?

13 hours ago by lezlow on Researchers break into BitLocker

it didn't post the link it's 'Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx Beta-1 First Look' on youtube :) Dava

14 hours ago by dava4444 on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) and the Latest Tempest

Hi James I disagree, Ubuntu needs a GUI update and this one IMO is quite good. your pics show a low res. here's a high res. on YouTube* The...

14 hours ago by dava4444 on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) and the Latest Tempest

Hi any news on the comment bot? knocking me back from my own blog is a bit cheeky lol *Mulder to Scully* "I think it has an agenda.." I know, I...

15 hours ago by dava4444 on ZDNet UK: faster, smarter, still IT all the way

if you look at the Brentwood exchange on samknows it servers 21,000 residential propertiesm, Lowestoft serves 31,000! Come on BT sort yourselves...

15 hours ago by benny boy on BT fibre broadband coming to 69 more towns

[programming] H.264 - a sting in the tail http://reddit.com/bfu4q [zdnet.co.uk]

17 hours ago on Twitter by pbreddit

H.264 - a sting in the tail [programming] 13 points, submitted by zigzag [zdnet.co.uk] http://reddit.com/bfu4q

18 hours ago on Twitter by reddit

Malware infects second Vodafone HTC phone: [zdnet.co.uk] A second Android-based HTC Magic from Vodafone has been... http://dlvr.it/KhKx

20 hours ago on Twitter by cybfor

Chatter preview http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/application-development/2010/03/17/salesforce-opens-up-chatter-developer-preview-40088348/

20 hours ago on Twitter by miyabi81

US gov t considers undercover social networking: [zdnet.co.uk] The Obama administration has considered sending... http://dlvr.it/Kh3L

20 hours ago on Twitter by cybfor

Featured white papers

Achieving PCI Compliance for:Privileged Password Management & Remote Vendor Access

e-DMZ Security

For multi-store outlets, including retail, banking, grocery, gas, hospitality, convenience stores and others, reducing (or avoiding) the cost of in-store system support and maintenance while maintaining compliance with PCI and other requirements has become a strategic challenge.

Download now

Web 2.0 Security Threats: How to Protect Your Enterprise Network

Qualys

Speaker: Dr. Chenxi Wang, Principal Analyst, Security and Risk Management, Forrester Research, Inc. As Enterprises are increasingly connected to the Internet and as hard organizational boundaries are fast disappearing, security professionals are facing fresh challenges in Enterprise computing.

Download now