Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. has established a new subsidiary to manufacture the Graphic Synthesizer, the main graphics processor for the next generation PlayStation.

The new chip manufacturing facility will employ 0.18 micron embedded DRAM process technology to manufacture the Graphic Synthesizer chips on 8" silicon wafers.

Initial production capacity will be 10,000 wafers a month, with availability beginning in spring 2000.

Sony also inked a deal with Toshiba to create a found foundry to make the world's first full 128-bit CPU, dubbed the Emotion Engine, which will be at the heart of the next generation PlayStation.

The Emotion Engine, jointly researched and developed by Sony and Toshiba, is designed to process massive amounts of data at the fastest possible speeds, approaching the performance of a super computer in floating point calculations.

More information is posted at http://www.playstation.com .