More Dolphin. More Info. More Drool.
God bless E3...have I said that before? Looks like Nintendo is going to make for a another decent fight at E3 this year! (WOOHOOO!). More news from IGN64...
Nintendo today made the first official US Dolphin announcement at its pre-E3 press conference in Los Angeles. At the event, Nintendo Chairman Howard Lincoln spoke confidently about the company's next-generation hardware and promised a console with the most powerful processor of any current or planned videogame system.
"I am absolutely confident [Dolphin] will equal or exceed anything that our friends over at Sony can come up with PlayStation 2," said Howard Lincoln. "It will be fast, powerful and inexpensive."
Nintendo Dolphin System Summary
Codenamed "Dolphin", Nintendo's next console is being designed jointly by Nintendo, Matsushita Denki, SGI off-shoot ArtX and IBM.
CPU
- IBM Gekko Processor (an extension of the IBM Power PC architecture)
- 400 MHz clock speed
- Semiconductor Process 0.18 Micron Copper Technology
- Manufactured in IBM's Burlington Vermont plants
Graphics
- Custom Chip designed by ArtX, Inc. of Palo Alto, CA
- 200 MHz Clock Speed
Semiconductor Processor 0.18 Micron embedded
- DRAM technology
System Memory
- High Speed DRAM Technology
- Memory Bandwidth -- 3.2 GB/second
Software Medium
- Matsushita Unique DVD Technology
- Enhanced Counterfeit Protection
- Maximum Capacity: 4.7 GB
Additional Information
- The combined video technology will later appear in other consumer electronic devices to be marketed under Matsushita's Panasonic brand.
- Nintendo promises quick access time comparable to a silicon cartridge.
- Manufacturing cost and time will be minimal.
- DVD movie playback capability is planned for the future.
- Current developers include EAD, Rare, Left Field, Retrostudios and NSTC (Nintendo Software Technology Corporation).
For comparison's sake, the system clock speed, graphics chip clock speed and memory bandwidth for the PlayStation 2 currently stand at 300 MHz, 150 MHz and 3.2 GB/second, respectively.
Nintendo would not disclose exact details on the amount of RAM, the console’s operating system or whether the Dolphin would feature optical/component outputs.
"There are more technological surprises to come. We'd like to keep them surprises for you for the time being -- as well as for our competition," said Lincoln. "I know our results are going to be spectacular." And with an eye toward Sony, Lincoln added: "I think we will do very well in that coming bout. In fact, we can hardly wait.
