14 DAY TRIAL // A new book, written by David Shippy and Mickie Phipps, both leading figures involved in the development of the Cell processor, is claiming that the development of the processor powering the PlayStation 3 gaming console from Sony ended up providing Microsoft, the producer of the Xbox 360, with valuable technology.
Sony wanted to make the PlayStation 3 a whole new console, dispensing with the idea of using the processor powering the PlayStation 2 as the basis for development. So, in 2001, Sony partnered up with IBM and Toshiba to create the Cell processor. It seems that the initial agreement between the three companies did not include a clause preventing the sale of the finished product and, more importantly, there was no provision denying IBM the chance to sell technology related to the Cell processor to other interested parties.
Microsoft approached IBM in the same period and ended up benefiting from the Cell development cycle. Shippy says that he felt “contaminated” while working with Microsoft engineers and offering them crucial details regarding the Cell. Sony was basically fielding the cost of the whole process, which was estimated to be about 400 million dollars, while the two engineers even go so far as saying that Microsoft asked IBM to design the processor of the Xbox 360 around the Cell.
So, at the end of the day, Microsoft created a new gaming console, the Xbox 360, benefiting from the results of a process supposed to push forward the development of the rival PlayStation 3, while Sony is now reeling from the high development costs of the Cell processor. The book also claims that a delay related to the manufacturing arm of IBM contributed to the year long gap between the launch of the PlayStation 3 and that of the Xbox 360.
Until now, the two companies have not responded to the claims of the book.