Intel's Not Inside anymore...

Wired News: Xbox to Switch to PowerPC
IBM in, Intel out of Xbox?

There was much speculation leading up to the official announcement by Microsoft that an IBM fabricated chip would power the next generation Xbox game console (Xbox 2). IBM now has secured contracts to fabricate chips that power the big 3 game consoles - the GameCube (G3), the PS3 (Cell) and the Xbox (who knows what). It's a good thing IBM is a conglomeration of smaller business units (companies in themselves) otherwise there would be a lot of conflict of interest in the chip manufacturing plants.

This announcement is a victory for all parties involved, directly or indirectly. Vendors of PowerPC based computers stand to benefit from this development since mass production of the chips will drive costs down. Game consoles will have superior processing power at their disposal so game designers can give their ideas flight. And the consumer, lower costs, more powerful systems, surrealistic gaming - what more can one ask for.