Engines roll for Xbox chip order
C|Net | at | by Mike
Focus Enhancements, a small chipmaker specializing in video-related products, has received its first order from Microsoft to supply chips for the Xbox video game console. Focus signed a deal with Microsoft last year to become a supplier of TV-encoding processors, which convert PC code into signals suitable for display on a TV set. The Campbell, Calif.-based company joined larger Conexant Systems as one of two providers of the chips, a critical but relatively inexpensive and low-profile part of the Xbox.
The move is one of several cost-cutting measures Microsoft has taken to trim production costs for the heavily subsidized Xbox, including shifting production to China for units sold outside North America.