/ 21 April 2003

Sony to invest $1,7-billion, boost chip output

Japanese electronics giant Sony on Monday unveiled a plan to invest $1,7-billion in the next three years to boost semiconductor production for its next-generation computer games.

Sony and its computer games arm, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI), said it would invest 200 billion yen ($1,7-billion) to produce chips using the so-called 65 nanometer process on 300 millimetre wafers.

”With this investment, SCEI will manufacture the new microprocessor for the broadband era, code-named ‘Cell,’ as well as other system LSIs (large-scale integrated circuits), to be used for the next generation computer entertainment system,” the two companies said in a joint statement.

As a first step, SCEI will spend 73 billion yen by March 2004 to introduce new production lines for semiconductor production at its plant in Nagasaki, western Japan. – Sapa-AFP