Nvidia-Sony deal to extend beyond PS3

Speaking with tech-focused Web site Bit Tech, a top-ranking Nvidia executive has alluded to a far-reaching alliance with Sony Computer Electronics. The chipmaker has already entered into a highly publicized agreement to supply the RSX graphics processor for the company's next-generation game console, the PlayStation 3.

Now, David Kirk, Nvidia's chief scientist and project lead of the division supplying the RSX chip, said the two companies' "deal goes beyond the PS3." Speaking to Bit Tech, he said that "so far, our relationship with Sony has been great. We have a much closer relationship and share a much broader vision for the future of computing and graphics."

Previously, Nvidia had supplied Microsoft with the GPU for the current Xbox. That relationship was scuppered when Microsoft picked Nvidia archrival ATI as the processor purveyor for its next-gen machine, the Xbox 360.

Kirk's comments to Bit Tech hint how the Sony relationship differs from what Nvidia shared with Microsoft previously. "It sounds cliched," Kirk said, "but Japanese companies are often trying to create a vision and make the technology follow that, not the other way round. We believed in that."

While Kirk offered no concrete details about what might be brewing, he portrayed the potential for upcoming projects optimistically. "The future is looking good," he said.