Sony invests in new chip maker

When making machines as complex as the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable, every little bit helps when it comes to controlling costs. Sony today announced a joint venture with Qimonda that might help it reduce the manufacturing expenses of its latest game systems.

The joint venture, Qcreatic Design, will be tasked with designing new high-performance, low-power DRAM memory chips for "consumer and graphic applications." Both the PS3 and the PSP use DRAM. An emphasis for the new company will be creating chips that are tailored specifically to the needs of the machines that use them.

"This deal allows us to combine Sony's chip-designing ability with Qimonda's chip-making ability," Sony president Ryoji Chubachi told the Bloomberg news service in an interview today. "That way, we can share a roadmap to cut costs."

Cutting costs is particularly important for Sony Computer Entertainment, which loses money on each unit of PS3 console it sells. During the company's last quarter, the division lost about $237 million.

The new company will start off with 30 designers, and is expected to begin operations in Tokyo later this year.