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ATI, graphics products group of Advanced Micro Devices, said on Wednesday that it shipped its 50 millionth graphics processing unit for Nintendo Wii. With 50 million units delivered, the ATI graphics processor code-named Hollywood becomes the most successful AMD game console chip to date in terms of unit sales.
“We congratulate Nintendo on this major milestone for its popular Wii console. AMD shares Nintendo’s excitement for delivering engaging experiences for every member of the family. We are proud to provide the ATI Hollywood chip as the cool and quiet graphics engine that factors so prominently in the overall enjoyment for Wii owners. AMD counts Nintendo as a valued customer and we continue to work together to make console entertainment a growing phenomenon worldwide,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager of graphics products group of AMD.
Nintendo Wii features IBM’s custom PowerPC architecture-based microprocessor named Broadway clocked at 729MHz and code-named Hollywood chip with built-in graphics core, DSP and I/O features from ATI that operates at 243MHz, earlier reports suggested. Nintendo Wii uses 91MB of memory in total: 23MB of “main” 1T-SRAM, 64MB of “external” 1T-SRAM and 3MB texture buffer on the GPU. Nintendo’s Wii does not feature a hard disk drive, instead, it boasts with 512MB of flash memory, but the console will also have a card reader, which will allow installing more memory.
Nintendo Wii is the most successful new-generation video game console that outsells both its competitors, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3, combined. The success of the Wii is conditioned by innovative motion-sensing game controller, relatively low price-point of $249/€249, casual games and ease of use. Considering that 50 millionth graphics processor for Wii was shipped today, sales of the video game console will reach 50 million in roughly 2.5 years after the introduction.
ATI has a rich 10-year history of providing graphics solutions for Nintendo spanning both the Wii and Nintendo GameCube consoles.
“Nintendo values its ongoing relationship with AMD. AMD’s graphics technology expertise as displayed in the ATI ‘Hollywood’ chip is a great part of the momentum of Wii. Our combined efforts help deliver entertaining experiences to create many smiling faces in living rooms around the world,” said Genyo Takeda, general manager of integrated research and development of Nintendo.
