TOKYO, March 4, 1999 - Toshiba Corporation and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. today announced that they have reached basic agreement to established a joint venture company to produce the 128-bit CPU, dubbed the Emotion EngineTM, the heart of the next generation PlayStation R system.
The joint venture company will establish new production lines within existing Toshiba clean room production facilities in Oita, Japan, capable of manufacturing chips on 8-inch wafers employing cutting-edge 0.18 - 0.15 micron process technology. (0.18 micron is the length of the silicon gate on the chip.) The new chip will be available in fall 1999. Initial production capacity is 10,000 wafers a month (multiple chips are produced from a single wafer). Sony Computer Enterainment Inc. expects to invest 50 billion yen in equipment for the new company.
The Emotion Engine, jointly researched and developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Toshiba, is the world's first full 128-bit CPU. It is capable of processing massive data at the fastest possible speeds approaching the performance of a super computer in floating point calculations.The next generation PlayStation is a new computer entertainment platform that will further expand the market for digital entertainment created by the PlayStation, the world's most successful TV-based videogame console with global sales of more than 50 million units.
Joint Venture Outline
Company Name: To be determined
Established: April 1999
Location: Oita, Japan
Intial Capital: 100 million yen
Ownership: 51 percent Toshiba, 49 percent Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.