NEC Electronics working on the Wii

  • By Dan Tochen, GameSpot
  • Posted May 1, 2006 2:26 pm PT

Japanese electronics firm producing chips for Nintendo's next console, beefing up production capacity to meet the order.

It appears that NEC Electronics is knee deep in the Wii. In March, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata used his Game Developers Conference keynote address to announce that the company's upcoming console would be able to download and play games from the NEC-developed TurboGrafx system of years past.

The company's ties to the Wii run a little deeper, however. During NEC Electronics' annual earnings call last week, the company revealed that it was working with Nintendo to produce large-scale integration chips (LSIs) for the game maker's new console, according to a Reuters report.

During the call, NEC Electronics CEO Toshio Nakashima revealed that the company had received an order for "system LSIs for Nintendo's next-generation game console." To produce the chips, NEC is planning to beef up the production capacity of the 300-millimeter line at its Yamagata factory, with the upgrades to be completed by September.

57 Comments

  • pyth0n13

    Posted May 12, 2006 9:53 pm PT

    oh man the wii is gonna be so awesome

  • pyth0n13

    Posted May 6, 2006 9:17 am PT

    i cant wait till i can get my wii

  • spidey008

    Posted May 2, 2006 11:18 am PT

    I didn't know the NEC made processors. It looks like we learn something everyday.

  • SamejGink

    Posted May 2, 2006 10:08 am PT

    "NEC is planning to beef up the production capacity"

    So, that means that they have the capabilities to manufacture the 300-mm line, but with this order (which is obviously sizable) they are increasing their production capabilities. Must be worth their while to upgrade their production lines!

    So, While NEC is cranking out chips right now, thier ability to do so will be increased come September.

    Upgrades, kids. Gamers should know about this kind of stuff! After all, do all your units in Warcraft 3 and any other RTS stop doing what they are doing while you research an Armor or weapon upgrade? NO! =D

  • SamejGink

    Posted May 2, 2006 10:08 am PT

    "NEC is planning to beef up the production capacity"

    So, that means that they have the capabilities to manufacture the 300-mm line, but with this order (which is obviously sizable) they are increasing their production capabilities. Must be worth their while to upgrade their production lines!

    So, While NEC is cranking out chips right now, thier ability to do so will be increased come September.

    Upgrades, kids. Gamers should know about this kind of stuff! After all, do all your units in Warcraft 3 and any other RTS stop doing what they are doing while you research an Armor or weapon upgrade? NO! =D

  • tmacyao111

    Posted May 2, 2006 10:03 am PT

    The news is good for Nintendo but I still can't get past the name of the system. Why Nintendo, why!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • japanesegoth

    Posted May 2, 2006 10:02 am PT

    "some nintendorks will be able to play games of yore (which they can download for free anyways),"

    games just don't feel the same when you're playing some emulated copy of it on a computer.
    i know they're emulated on the "wii" but it just doesn't feel the same on a computer. and these versions will not have errors like some roms.

  • rbarahona

    Posted May 1, 2006 8:33 pm PT

    It's good to read that Nintendo have some great business partners. I'm sure that this kind of deal could benefit both companies. I'm willing to download those TurboGrafx games.

  • Jman1236

    Posted May 1, 2006 8:06 pm PT

    I had a TurboGrafx 16 but it broke, so I'm gald to see NEC getting back into games, even though it's just by supplying chips for the Nintendo Wii and offering the Turbo Grafx 16's games for downloads.

  • WeeWeeJumbo

    Posted May 1, 2006 8:04 pm PT

    Hahaha MadonnaProject, I couldn't have said it better myself, even though I've been trying to say it in these forums for weeks now.

  • MadonnaProject

    Posted May 1, 2006 7:57 pm PT

    OH MY GOD.....OH MY GOD.....THIS IS AMAZING....

    while the rest of the world is playing GEARS OF WAR, some nintendorks will be able to play games of yore (which they can download for free anyways), by paying for them from the INCREDIBLE turbografx system....

    seriously, nintendo PWNS ****

    *rolls eyes*

  • Orasion_Seiz

    Posted May 1, 2006 7:35 pm PT

    alright

  • obliviob1012

    Posted May 1, 2006 7:33 pm PT

    looks good

  • obliviob1012

    Posted May 1, 2006 7:33 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • darkmagician06

    Posted May 1, 2006 7:18 pm PT

    That means there wont be a shortage like with the 360's. Great!!

  • doomed51

    Posted May 1, 2006 7:09 pm PT

    wow, thats pretty interesting, and NEC monitors are expensive....

  • doomed51

    Posted May 1, 2006 7:08 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • meimnobody

    Posted May 1, 2006 7:05 pm PT

    Orders for Wii chips have been going on for some time. Just like the DS they are making more factories produce Nintendo products.

    NEC is just one company out of several producing componets for Nintendo.

    The finished upgrades in September could easily fit in with the US launch. Nintendo isn't keen on doing a worldwide launch just because Microsoft did it. Pretty much that launch killed a lot of the future 360 sales.

  • jono128

    Posted May 1, 2006 6:47 pm PT

    Ok, I don't really know what all this means, or know if I care about it for that matter.

  • mrcanfwhoopass

    Posted May 1, 2006 6:32 pm PT

    awesome

  • Blazer88

    Posted May 1, 2006 6:22 pm PT

    Its's there because it has to do with the world of gaming,.which coincidently,..Gamespot covers.As to it's importance,.not sure either myself other than perhpas increased prouduction capabilty of the Wii in the future,.the article doesn't really clarify what it all means too well though so I'm just guessing.

  • Lilac_Benjie

    Posted May 1, 2006 6:06 pm PT

    NEC are pretty experienced when it comes to building computer hardware.

  • vwgti3

    Posted May 1, 2006 5:24 pm PT

    That another good reason to buy the Rev....I Mean.....Wiiiiiiii

  • ultimate_zero

    Posted May 1, 2006 5:23 pm PT

    Looks like the revolution still has surprises in store

  • NeoJedi

    Posted May 1, 2006 5:09 pm PT

    Wii!! That sounds good!!

  • s-s

    Posted May 1, 2006 5:08 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • LancerVI

    Posted May 1, 2006 4:55 pm PT

    You know, I think we are seeing a return to power by Nintendo. I believe that the Wii will give both Xbox and PS3 a run for it's money. In fact, I boldly predict a victory for Nintendo in the Japanese market . This is something us 30 somethings have been looking forward to for a long time. A return to the early days of gaming.

  • Rev06

    Posted May 1, 2006 4:47 pm PT

    The Wii could be out before that, SirFatalChaos, they just haven't said that it will happen. Besides, anyone who wants it badly can wait. But I hope it releases after school starts because I gave up video games for the summer to get a trampoline.

    One note off topic, has anyone noticed how many games are scheduled for the Wii. There's more third-party support than Nintendo's own games. I say that is awesome

    Also to ste90, they will be revealing everything there will be to know about the Wii (got to start typing Wii instead of Revolution), including: Specs, games, launch date, prices, hopefully game demo videos (excited about those), everything and everything

  • greywolf250

    Posted May 1, 2006 4:37 pm PT

    The Scale just refers to the complexity of the chip. For instance, you'll find Small Scale or Medium Scale Integration chips in your household appliances, whereas you'll mainly just find Large Scale Integration chips (and higher) in computers and such.

    Technically, the scale refers to the amount of logic gates in the chip, which in turn denotes the amount of transistors in the chip.

  • remaGloohcSdlO

    Posted May 1, 2006 4:34 pm PT

    The TG16 was the most under appreciated system ever... maybe NEC can give them the boost they need to compete! NEC rocks!

  • Pablo620

    Posted May 1, 2006 4:27 pm PT

    Eduard its news stop crying, Nintendo is building up quite a bit of steam coming up to E3, I wonder if theyll blow the whole shabang there

  • nintendogamer64

    Posted May 1, 2006 4:23 pm PT

    the company revealed that it was working with Nintendo to produce large-scale integration chips (LSIs) for the game maker's new console, according to a Reuters report.

    could some one KINDLY tell me what this means

  • sasukedevil

    Posted May 1, 2006 4:21 pm PT

    good news.

  • miniduck

    Posted May 1, 2006 3:49 pm PT

    It'll be released in November.

  • blackIceJoe

    Posted May 1, 2006 3:49 pm PT

    That sounds nice and good.
    Lets hope it works.

  • SnowFarmer

    Posted May 1, 2006 3:20 pm PT

    They are upgrading their production capacity to deal with the extra chips they will be producing for Nintendo. The fact that they will complete the upgrade by September, doesn't really tell us much with regards to the launch date. That factory might already be in low volume production to test the process. They also most likley will be able to produce chips before the upgrades are complete.

    The best we can tell for this announcement is that the Wii looks on target for a Q4 2006 launch.

  • ste90

    Posted May 1, 2006 3:09 pm PT

    It hints to me and i think that why gamespot posted it because of this: "NEC is planning to beef up the production capacity of the 300-millimeter line at its Yamagata factory, with the upgrades to be completed by September. "
    So the Wii's upgrades will be done by september so either meaning a late September launch depeding on what time of September the chips will be upgraded.
    But to me it seems like a early october laucnh for the Wii one month before sony so it gives the people wanting the Wii a hope that it will be coming in and around September. I just hope that a release date is announced at the press conference now

  • korn18m

    Posted May 1, 2006 3:06 pm PT

    It wasn't coming out in August anyways was it? Last I remember, it was promised to be released "before the holiday season", which is to say before Thanksgiving. Also, rumor going around is it won't be released until early 2007, but I do not believe that. I think it will be in November. It's going to be a very chaotic month for anyone in the retail business if both the Wii and PS3 release in the same month. I feel for you guys!

  • soul_motor

    Posted May 1, 2006 3:04 pm PT

    What's a large-scale integration chip (LSI)?

  • TryMe01

    Posted May 1, 2006 3:04 pm PT

    at least its somw Wii news...

  • Redstorm

    Posted May 1, 2006 3:03 pm PT

    W00t for Wii!!

  • PumaPride3k

    Posted May 1, 2006 3:02 pm PT

    You might want to change your avatar Baba

  • ds_null

    Posted May 1, 2006 3:00 pm PT

    Hot beans!

  • SiBaba

    Posted May 1, 2006 2:58 pm PT

    Down with Nintendo!!!

  • bulldog7

    Posted May 1, 2006 2:55 pm PT

    meh, not all that interesting

  • DarthVaderNDS

    Posted May 1, 2006 2:55 pm PT

    Um yay?

  • lordzod89

    Posted May 1, 2006 2:46 pm PT

    cool

  • eduardjm

    Posted May 1, 2006 2:46 pm PT

    so what does this mean in terms to us? this seems on par with telling us who's making the wi-fi chip for the revolution; its useless unless there's some relevance...

  • Zero_Beat

    Posted May 1, 2006 2:45 pm PT

    [to: SirFatalChaos]
    Production doesn't come to a stop whilst they're increasing it.

  • Cornercutter

    Posted May 1, 2006 2:43 pm PT

    launch probably wont be delayed.

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