Recent reports suggest that Intel was in contention to design the chip for the upcoming PlayStation 6, but ultimately lost out to AMD in a bidding war. According to Reuters, negotiations between Intel and Sony broke down over profit margins and concerns about backward compatibility.
The dispute over profit sharing between Intel and Sony lasted for several months in 2022, involving top executives and engineers from both Intel and AMD. Sony’s insistence on compatibility with previous AMD-powered consoles like the PS4 and PS5 played a significant role in the decision to go with AMD over Intel. The unique software and operating system of consoles make compatibility between different hardware architectures more challenging compared to PCs.
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Intel’s recent struggles in the market have been evident with issues surrounding its hardware like the Arc A750 and A770 graphics cards, as well as the MSI Claw handheld gaming device. These setbacks, along with financial challenges and layoffs, have raised concerns about Intel’s future in the industry.
Despite losing the PlayStation 6 contract to AMD, Intel has shifted its focus to other projects like the 18A node and securing contracts with major partners like Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Defense. The potential revenue from the PS6 contract was estimated to be around $30 billion for Intel.
While AMD and Intel were the final contenders for the PlayStation 6 chip, other companies like Broadcom were also considered. However, Intel has declined to comment on any ongoing or potential customer discussions, according to Reuters.
