Marvell Armada in 'new gaming platform'

Marvell during a call discussing its latest fiscal results revealed that one of its Armada processors will reach a game console. Company co-founder Sehat Sutardja explained that a quarter-to-quarter boost of revenue was owing to a "major customer" ramping up a "new gaming platform." The executive didn't give away any clues as to the customer or choice of processor in the Seeking Alpha transcript of the call.

The console maker may be Nintendo, as the 3DS is expected to ship in the fall to at least Japan. Nintendo has already said it plans to provide a release date on September 29. The CPU would be a significant upgrade to the now six-year-old dual processors inside the DS, DS Lite and DSi and would likely be necessary to drive 3D visuals and a larger screen alongside the already confirmed Pico200 graphics.

One possible candidate is the Armada 618, although at 1GHz it may be too expensive or too hot-running to power the 3DS without being underclocked.

Sony has largely been ruled out as there have been no definite signs of a PSP sequel launch this fall. Much of the company's attention may also be focused on a PlayStation-branded Android 3.0 phone that would be more likely to use a Qualcomm Snapdragon, TI OMAP or other smartphone-oriented part. No other major electronics firms are suspected of producing a dedicated game system in the next few months. [via Engadget]

By Electronista Staff