X-bit labs

More Details about NVIDIA and Sony Joint Developments: CES 2005 Interview (page 3)

Category: Editorial

by Anna Filatova

[ 01/17/2005 | 04:36 PM ]

Anna (X-bit labs): How do you think the cooperation with NVIDIA will help Sony to compete with Microsoft XBox? How would you evaluate the advantages of this cooperation in relation to competition?

David Roman: This is tricky one to answer :) I would say some of the reasons why we think that is beneficial, some of the things that are going to help Sony with it, is first of all the actual development platform itself. As graphics becomes more and more complex, it’s not just the actual technology of the graphics processor, but it’s also the whole development platform that’s available to the software vendors to actually be able to take advantage of the feature set in terms of the tools, in terms of the support, in terms of the code that’s already written, the routines that are there. That’s something we do very well because that’s our business. And because we’ve been working on this next generation GPU, we have already been developing a lot of that material. So, I think in that sense compared to how Sony did it before, they did that in-house: they had to normally develop the technology, but then also develop all the tools for the platform to actually give to the developers to create content. There is an advantage to them in not having to do that. They can work with us because we are developing prototype anyway.

The other reason is just in terms of resources, I think we are all getting to the point where huge companies like Sony when we are tackling something new like this, developing the new CPU in terms of cell, developing whole new set of media based technologies, things that are working on the display side, they have to work on the graphics side as well. These are big development companies. Most likely the benefits to them will be to be able to allocate those resources for things they are specifically very good at, and using our resources for things we are good at. We know how to develop graphics processors, that’s our main.

Also the development of the actual platform tools is something one would think would be easier than in the past, when they had to work on their own platform and at the same time to build their own technology.

The next generation of consoles is going to be exciting. Everybody has very high expectations for all of the coming out hot new technologies, which we will see in the next generation products. This is going to be exciting.

Anna (X-bit labs): How would you evaluate the growth of the console gaming market relative to the PC gaming market?

David Roman: The market is growing a lot. You know what happens with consoles. Their life cycle is relatively long: 5-7 years, and the growth at the beginning of the cycle is very-very rapid, and then it starts to slow down. I think now it is the tail end of the current generation. Typically when there is the whole new generation of consoles across the market the growth is very rapid, very high. I would think that would happen again with this transition.

In addition to that I think all of the console manufacturers are looking at redefining the console as being a much more universal sort of device than just a games console, a device more compatible with the living-room environment. There appears more integration with photo, media, and other different things. Their ambition is to go beyond the game market, which suggests that they would increase the market potential.

On the PC side the PC vendors are doing the same. I am saying let’s bring the PC into the living-room, let’s make the PC sort of generic device. So, it certainly brings tension in the market. In terms of growth potential I would suspect that the consoles will enjoy a higher growth because of the price line and because it is the new generation of consoles that will be much more compatible. That will be an exciting time!