MIPS Technologies in the heart of Playstation® 2 Computer
MIPS TECHNOLOGIES IN THE HEART OF PLAYSTATION®2 COMPUTER
ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., October 26, 2000 -- MIPS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:MIPS, MIPSB), a leading provider of industry standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and network applications, today revealed that the new PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) is powered by two MIPS-based? processors. SCEI's PlayStation®, the entertainment robot AIBO? from Sony, Nintendo® 64, ReplayTV?, DISHPlayer?, and WebTV® Plus, also using MIPS-based products, further demonstrate MIPS' strength in the home entertainment and digital consumer markets.
Launching in North America today, PlayStation 2 opens the door to a new computer-based home entertainment experience.
Dr. Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Associates, the leading market research firm tracking digital media, said, "In less than six years, Sony shipped more than 73 million systems of the original PlayStation. In just three months, Sony has already shipped three million PS2 units in Japan alone. This product has the potential to become the home gateway for new digital entertainment enabled by the prolific broadband infrastructure in the U.S."
"PlayStation 2 will truly bring interactive 3D entertainment to the masses," said John Bourgoin, chairman and CEO of MIPS Technologies. "MIPS-based products played a key role in the design of integral parts to this market-leading entertainment system. The strength of MIPS' open licensable technologies combined with the flexibility of our business model once again empowered our customers to create promising new electronics products."
The Award-Winning Power Behind PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 graphics are based on the "Emotion Synthesis" concept, which is real-time synthesis of a computer graphics animation scene projecting real-life atmosphere through changes in perspective and lighting.
The heart of the PlayStation 2 is the powerful "EmotionEngine?," which contains three independent processors: a MIPS-based floating point coprocessor and two floating-point vector processors. Serving as the core central processing unit (CPU) is the 294-MHz, 128-bit MIPS-based processor developed jointly by SCEI and Toshiba Corporation. Equivalent in complexity to the most advanced microprocessors, the EmotionEngine uses a 0.18-micron process and has over 13 million transistors, providing a new level of graphics and multimedia performance. Recognizing its potential to substantially improve the performance of the systems in which it is used, the EmotionEngine received the "2000 Analyst's Choice Award for the Best Embedded Processor" from Cahner's MicroDesign Resources and the Microprocessor Report.
'The EmotionEngine is a proof of what we can achieve if we combine an outstanding vision for the future of computer-based entertainment, an advanced SoC processor design and process capability with best-in-class architecture," said Mr. Toshinori Moriyasu, general manager of the Microprocessor Division for Toshiba Semiconductor Company. "As a result, our EmotionEngine has achieved the industry's best performance and productivity through the cooperation with Sony Computer Entertainment Inc."
Backward compatibility for PlayStation software products and hardware peripherals is supplied by a 32-bit MIPS-based single-chip I/O processor developed by SCEI and LSI Logic. It includes a dedicated CPU for managing complex input-output data transfers to and from a wide variety of external devices.
About MIPS Technologies, Inc.
MIPS Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of industry standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and network applications. The company drives the broadest architectural alliance that is delivering 32- and 64-bit embedded RISC solutions. The company licenses its intellectual property to semiconductor companies, ASIC developers, and system OEMs. MIPS Technologies, Inc. and its licensees offer the widest range of robust, scalable processors in standard, custom, semi-custom and application-specific products.
Licensees currently include: Alchemy Semiconductor, Inc.; Altera Corporation; ATI Technologies Inc.; Broadcom Corporation; Centillium Communications, Inc.; Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd.; Conexant Systems, Inc.; EmpowerTel Networks (formally known as Lara Technology, Inc.); ESS Technology, Inc.; Gemplus International S.A.; Integrated Device Technology (IDT), Inc.; InSilicon Corporation; Integrated Telecom Express (ITeX), Inc.; LSI Logic Corporation; Macronix America, Inc.; Metalink Ltd.; Micron Technology, Inc.; General Instrument Corporation (acquired by Motorola, Inc.); NEC Corporation; NeoMagic Corporation; NKK Corporation; Philips Semiconductors International B.V.; Quantum Effect Devices, Inc. (acquired by PMC-Sierra, Inc.); QuickLogic Corporation; Sandcraft, Inc.; SiByte, Inc.; Sony Corporation; Synova Incorporated; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company; Texas Instruments Incorporated; Toshiba Corporation; and Excess Bandwidth Corporation (acquired by Virata Corporation). Numerous companies utilize MIPS-based intellectual property. MIPS Technologies, Inc. is based in Mountain View, California, and can be reached at 650-567-5000 or http://www.mips.com.
MIPS-based is trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc. "PlayStation" is a registered trademark and "EmotionEngine" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. All press materials are available on the World Wide Web via: http://www.mips.com
Media Contact:
Lee Garvin Flanagin
MIPS Technologies, Inc.
+1 650 567 5180
flanagin@mips.com
David Van
The Hoffman Agency
+1 408 975 3001
dvan@hoffman.com
Related News
- Canonical enables Ubuntu on StarFive's VisionFive 2 RISC-V single board computer
- Imagination GPU selected by StarFive for next-generation VisionFive 2 single-board computer
- Imagination reports MIPS Warrior P-class CPU at the heart of new communications processor from Baikal Electronics
- MIPS Technologies 'Processor IP at the Heart of Sequans' New LTE SoCs for Handsets and Tablets
- Qimonda Started Volume Production of Rambus XDR DRAM for PlayStation(R)3 Computer Entertainment System
Breaking News
- Micon Global and Silvaco Announce New Partnership
- Arm loses out in Qualcomm court case, wants a re-trial
- Jury is out in the Arm vs Qualcomm trial
- Ceva Seeks To Exploit Synergies in Portfolio with Nano NPU
- Synopsys Responds to U.K. Competition and Markets Authority's Phase 1 Announcement Regarding Ansys Acquisition
Most Popular
E-mail This Article | Printer-Friendly Page |