The company bought the Nintendo chip making factory in Tsuruoka

Jan 29, 2014 14:55 GMT  ·  By

Japanese electronics maker Sony announced today that the company had closed the deal with Renesas Yamagata Semiconductor and bought the Tsuruoka factory that was previously making chips for Nintendo consoles.

With this move, Sony plans to increase its total CMOS image sensor production from 60,000 wafers per month to around 75,000 and further consolidate its position as a market leader.

“Following the acquisition, Sony intends to convert part of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment that Sony is scheduled to acquire from Renesas Yamagata Semiconductor to CMOS image sensor manufacturing equipment, and also to install new manufacturing equipment for CMOS image sensors in Yamagata TEC. Yamagata TEC will primarily engage in the manufacture of photodiodes and wiring processes for stacked CMOS image sensors,” said the company in today's press release.

Recently, two high-end camera manufacturers (Hasselblad and Phase One) announced a new medium-format camera that uses a 50MP CMOS sensor made by Sony.