http://www.tweaktown.com/news/10071/rumour_intel_wants_larrabee_in_xbox_720/

Intel wants Larrabee in Xbox 720

Author: TweakTown Staff

Intel is pulling out all the stops to get its Larrabee GPUs inside
Microsoft's next-gen Xbox (Xbox 720) or another console, according to
The Inquirer citing unnamed sources.

As rumours go this doesn't sound too off the mark. MS needs a graphics
chip for the Xbox 720, and Intel, along with NVIDIA and AMD, will have
suitable parts available. The bigger surprise would be that MS refused
to even hear Intel's sales pitch.

But the Inq has gone further to say that Intel is doing everything it
can to table an deal MS can't refuse, going so far as offering to do
the engineering work on thermal design (hopefully ensuring we won't
ever see a repeat of the RROD nightmare), and is even prepared to hand
over the rights so that MS can get the chip manufactured at any fab it
chooses.

This would give MS a significant advantage in the next-gen console war
as it would allow the console maker to book as much fab capacity as it
wanted ensuring there is never a shortage of consoles on shop shelves;
or it could shop around for the cheapest fab deal, meaning lower
production costs and the ability to undercut Sony and Nintendo in the
event of a price war.

Overall a deal like this would be very attractive and it's unlikely
either NV or AMD would be able to match it. So what's in it for Intel?

The main motivation behind all this for Intel is developer support.
The PC graphics card installed base is dominated by NV with around 60%
and AMD with 30% (according to the Valve Hardware Survey), and it's
just basic economics that games developers will devote most of their
resources to design and test their new titles on these two families of
cards.

Unless Intel is prepared to put up cash to make it easy and/or
worthwhile for developers to spend time writing a Larrabee code-path
for their games with a program similar to NV's TWIMTBP, it's going to
take a while before games optimised for Larrabee start appearing. At
the same time it's going to be hard to recommend gamers rush out to
spend their hard earned money on a Larrabee card if there isn't
software to take advantage of it. Chicken and egg.

Intel getting Larrabee inside the Xbox 720, or one of the other next-
gen consoles, would change this situation. Some developers my not be
too happy about having to learn the peculiarities of the new hardware
platform, but that won't stop them (see the reaction to the PS3 as an
example) because the potential return on investment is much greater in
the console market. The promise of being able to port those games over
to the PC would be extra icing on the cake.

Overall this news sounds pretty good for gamers. If Larrabee doesn't
get in at least one next gen-console, it's going to take a while
before we see games that really take advantage of the new hardware
except for a few Intel-backed titles. On the other hand, if this deal
goes down, it could mean cheaper consoles, more competition in the PC
graphics card market, and more games for the PC, even if they are
mostly console ports at first.

In other news, Microsoft has announced price cuts for the Xbox 360 in
the US market. Effective tomorrow (Sept 5), an Xbox Arcade bundle will
set you back $199 USD (cheaper than the Nintendo Wii), the standard
package with hard drive, headset etc. will cost $299, and the Elite
bundle can be had for $399.

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http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/09/03/potential-console-deal-intel

Intel needs a console deal to get Larrabee off the ground

Rumour mill has Intel courting Microsoft

SPECULATION FROM INDUSTRY insiders has it that Intel is having
significant trouble getting publishers and developers to programme for
Larrabee.

INQ sources reveal Chipzilla is offering to shell out millions of
dollars to anyone who will bravely take the plunge into the great
Larrabee unknown, an incentive which still doesn’t seem to be doing
the trick, say some.

As with any new architecture, Larrabee is considered a risk, and a
potentially costly one at that, scaring developers into uncertainty
about whether or not to put the work in.

It seems that the only real way to force the developers’ hands, would
be if Intel were to win a contract for a major console, meaning
publishers would then have to programme for it.

This means Chipzilla is now under immense pressure to get itself a
console deal. And apparently all roads lead to Vole.

And our well-placed if publicity-shy sources claim Intel has offered
Microsoft a very sweet deal indeed in exchange for pushing AMD out of
the running for Mightysoft’s upcoming Xbox 720.

Offering everything from chips to chassis, Intel is purportedly wooing
the Vole right down to designing its thermals and pimping the Larrabee
chipset out to Microsoft to subcontract out as it pleases. Needless to
say, this gives the Vole some rather hefty bargaining power, and
leaves both AMD and Nvidia quivering in their boots.

Intel also appears to be heding its bets by wooing Sony by going after
the Playstation 4, which won’t be out until at least 2011. The Xbox720
will be out in the market a fair while before that.

Word out of the games convention in Leipzig appears to be that, in all
likelihood, Larrabee version one will barely take off, but with the
right console deal, Larabee Two – which should be making its first
appearance somewhere around 2010 – could be a big player.

Not getting a console deal could potentially stifle Larabee in the
short term, as most games these days are written for consoles before
being ported to a PC. This means that even if PC users have ten times
the power, they’re still stuck using games developed for DX9.

So, for Intel’s Larrabee, it could be either a console deal, or game
over. µ

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Also:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/06/intel-hoping-to-get-larrabee-within-next-gen-xbox/
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/05/rumor-intel-vying-for-larrabee-chip-in-xbox-720/