我很希望看到任天堂(Nintendo)即將推出的 Wii U 游戲機。為何如此要關心？是因為其中采用了許多瑞薩電子(Renesas Electronics)的組件。
我并不是一個游戲玩家，但在任天堂即將推出 Wii U之際，我立即注意到了這個消息。任天堂預計 11月18日在美國發(fā)售，接下來分別于11月30日和12月8日開始在歐洲和澳洲上市。
通過 Wii U 的詳細拆解報告（請點擊這里查看
《任天堂Wii U拆解探秘》），我們知道，任天堂采用的是多芯片模塊(MCM)──該模塊在單一基板上整合了了多核心CPU和GPU ，以及內建內存。這顆 MCM 組件內含 IBM 采用45nm制程的 CPU 芯片，以及由瑞薩制造的 AMD GPU 芯片。
在 MCM 中整合來自不同公司的芯片并不是新聞。但對任天堂的工程團隊來說，他們必須面對許多挑戰(zhàn)。這顆 MCM 組件必須降低延遲和功耗，而且還必須減小硬件的整體尺寸──這也是任天堂的首要目標。
任天堂公司游戲暨硬件設計部門總裁 Satoru Iwata 曾在接受網站視頻采訪時提到 Wii U 在內部硬件及設計挑戰(zhàn)。
瑞薩科技還未證實該公司是否贏得了任天堂下一代游戲機的設計訂單。但任天堂曾在季度財務電話會議中提到，瑞薩收到了“來自娛樂領域的大宗客制化SoC訂單”。
這會是瑞薩唯一的機會嗎？
GwJesmc
任天堂的成功設計，是前NEC電子工程團隊的專業(yè)明證。 NEC電子在與瑞薩科技合并前，曾負責為任天堂 GameCube 和 Wii 生產 GPU 。
Wii U的設計勝利，是瑞薩黯淡業(yè)績中的少數(shù)亮點之一。歐洲電子產業(yè)正面臨長期債務憂慮，而中國市場則持續(xù)放緩。
本文授權編譯自EE Times，版權所有，謝絕轉載
本文下一頁：瑞薩電子半導體銷售成績
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• 夏普瑞薩分獲數(shù)十億美元貸款，援手該不該伸？
• 東芝與瑞薩紓困之計：調整重組及擴大委外代工GwJesmc
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截至今年9月30日的瑞薩第二季財報已將供應給任天堂 Wii U 的 GPU 包含在內，與第一季相比，Q2的SoC銷售增長了20.6%，從344億日圓成長至550億日圓。大部分的成長來自用于任天堂游戲機的GPU。
瑞薩電子半導體銷售成績。
Source:瑞薩電子GwJesmc
在大型訂制項目如SoC帶動下，Q2半導體銷售額提高22%
瑞薩表示，該公司期待游戲應用的訂制SoC銷售將持續(xù)增加。
當然，若 Wii U 成績不振，則所有的預測都是空談。
本文授權編譯自EE Times，版權所有，謝絕轉載
編譯： Joy Teng
參考英文原文：Yoshida in Japan: Can Wii U save Renesas?，by Junko Yoshida
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Yoshida in Japan: Can Wii U save Renesas?
Junko Yoshida
TOKYO -- I’m not an avid gamer (well, I’m not a gamer at all, unless you count Scrabble). But I am keen to find out how Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U launch will fare. It goes on sale in the U.S. on Nov. 18, in Europe and Australia on Nov. 30 and here on Dec. 8.
Why should I care? Because Renesas Electronics has a lot riding on the Wii U launch.
Although no teardown specialists have worked on the Wii U yet, we know Nintendo is using a multichip module (MCM) containing both a multicore CPU and GPU along with on-chip memory on a single substrate. The MCM integrates IBM’s CPU die based on its 45-nm process technology and a Renesas-manufactured AMD’s GPU die.
Combining dies manufactured by different companies on a single component has been done before. It’s no cakewalk. But the challenge is paying off for Nintendo’s engineering team. The MCM reduces latency and power consumption while reducing the overall size of the hardware – Nintendo's primary goal.
Some of Wii U’s internal hardware and design challenges were discussed on Nintendo's Web site in a video segment in which company president Satoru Iwata interviewed Nintendo's chief game and hardware designers.
Renesas hasn't confirmed its design win for Nintendo’s next-generation game machine. Nintendo did mention that Renesas received “a large-scale SoC custom order from the amusement sector” during a conference call on its quarterly financial results.
Only bright spot for Renesas?
The Nintendo design win is a testament to the engineering expertise of the former NEC Electronics’ team. NEC Electronics, before its merger with Renesas, was responsible for the production of GPUs for Nintendo GameCube and Wii.
The Wii U design win is one of the few bright spots for Renesas on an otherwise bleak horizon. The European electronics industry is facing prolonged debt worries while the Chinese market continues to slow. China sales for Japanese car makers, a key Renesas clients, have been hit by a popular backlash against Japanese products after a territorial dispute flared up again.
Renesas’ Q2 financial results that ended Sept. 30 already incorporated the sales of GPUs for Nintendo’s Wii U. Compared to Q1, sales of SoCs in the Q2 jumped 20.6 percent to 55 billion yen from 34.4 billion yen. Most of the increase is believed to come from GPUs for Nintendo.
Renesas Electronics Semiconductor Sales
Source: Renesas Electronics
Q2 semiconductor sales improved by 22%, driven by large custom projects like SoCs
Renesas said it continues to expect sales of custom SoCs in the gaming segment to increase.
All bets are off, of course, if Wii U turns out to be a dud.
責編：Quentin
