The NY Times reported that Microsoft plans to design their own chips from here on out. I’m not sure that that’s entirely true from how the article reads (though that’s how tech blogs such as engadget and techwack have taken it). Designing and even improving on an existing chip takes so much experise and commitment that I would fully expect Microsoft to continue to partner in the effort. That doesn’t mean they’re wed to IBM… just that partnership is liekly. And Microsoft will likely not be in the chip manufacturing business ever, meaning they still need a partner.

The Microsoft internal team waiting in the wings to develop new Xbox CPUs is called the ‘Computer Architecture Group’, and is headed by Microsoft Engineer Charles P. Thacker. It will focus primarily on the company’s Xbox videogame console division. Thacker says that it’s time for Microsoft to start “thinking about the next next-generation design of its Xbox game console,” seeing as the Xbox 360 is fast approaching its first anniversary.

There are indications that Microsoft is intending to implement voice-recognition technology to the ever-evolving Xbox product line, and Thacker seems to think it’s an avenue of opportunity that could play a substantial part in the research and design of future videogame console chips. “Voice is big,” said Thacker. “You can throw as much technology at it as you want to.” It sounds like he’s looking for justification to keep getting bigger and faster (vs. Nintendo who feels like with the Wii, they’ve gotten fast enough).

Tags:No Tags