Era già noto da tempo ma AMD ha voluto ufficializzarlo con un comunicato stampa: "La nuova console Nintendo Wii U sarà basata su un processore grafico custom AMD Radeon HD, creato appositamente per Nintendo."

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Dopo le GPU "Flipper" e "Hollywood", rispettivamente per Game Cube e Wii, la casa di Kyoto resta fedele alle soluzioni Radeon e propone per quella che è definita la prima console next-gen una GPU AMD in grado di supportare appieno la grafica in alta definizione. Al momento non conosciamo i dettagli di questo chip grafico, probabilmente basato su design VLIW5 con eDRAM build-in, ma sappiamo che sarà integrato in un package MCM (multi-chip module) insieme ad una CPU IBM Power7.

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AMD è alle prese con una situazione economica non facile ma la strada per il recupero potrebbe passare anche per il settore console, visto che rumors sempre più insistenti parlano di una PlayStation 4 di Sony (altra console next-gen) basata su un'APU custom (CPU + iGPU di AMD con memoria stacked) e di una nuova Xbox di Microsoft (8 / 720 / Surface ???) che utilizza una iGPU AMD dal design "GCN".

Attualmente AMD fornisce i chip grafici Xenos alle console Xbox 360 di Microsoft, mentre la PlayStation 3 è equipaggiata con la GPU RSX della rivale Nvidia.

 

Di seguito il comunicato:

 

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Nov. 16, 2012 — AMD (NYSE: AMD) is proud to support Nintendo’s newly launched Wii U home console as the supplier of custom AMD Radeon™ HD GPU technology. As announced at E3 in 2011, the custom-for-Nintendo AMD graphics processor enables Wii U to provide exciting, immersive game play, brilliant HD video and game graphics and new forms of interaction for consumers. Since 2001, AMD technology has been included in more than 118 million Nintendo Wii and GameCube hardware units around the world.1

The AMD GPU will help bring Nintendo’s popular franchises into HD for the first time with new innovative game-play experiences, and the new Wii U GamePad™ controller, which creates a second window into the game world. “Wii U and its GamePad controller offer completely new and unexpected game-play and entertainment experiences,” said Genyo Takeda, General Manager, Integrated Research & Development Division, Nintendo Co., Ltd. “We chose AMD to support our HD gaming efforts with its best-in-class graphics capabilities, and we’re proud to call them a technology partner.”

“Our relationship with Nintendo is the next exciting chapter in the long AMD history of supplying the game console market with our elite graphics expertise,” said Saeid Moshkelani, corporate vice president and general manager, Semi-Custom Business Unit, AMD. “Working so closely with Nintendo to create the ideal custom graphics processor for Wii U is another example of how AMD stands for giving consumers the best video entertainment and gaming experience – whether that’s a next-generation console, desktop and notebook PC, big screen HDTV or tablet.”

The new Wii U is available just in time for the Holidays along with other AMD-powered notebooks, tablets and desktops, rounding out tech-savvy consumers’ holiday wish list. According to the Consumer Electronics Association2, three in four gift-giving adults plan to buy a consumer-electronics product as a gift. AMD-powered products provide superior computing experiences for consumers – from more brilliant graphics when gaming to longer battery life when on the go – ultimately letting people do more every day.