Microsoft to License I.B.M. Chips

Microsoft to License I.B.M. Chips: "I.B.M. may be best known for its big computers that run corporate and government data centers. But with computer games increasingly using the same animating technology as supercomputers, I.B.M. has become more focused on the game console business. Already, I.B.M. supplies the processors for Nintendo GameCube machines, and it has forged a partnership with Sony to design processor technology for the successor to its current PlayStation 2 console.

With the Microsoft deal, I.B.M. appears to have an inside track with the three major console makers. That opens the door, analysts say, to I.B.M., which ruled the mainframe era, in potentially achieving a dominant position as a supplier of technology for computer games.
'By the middle or end of this decade, I.B.M. could have as much influence and market power in the console market as Intel does in the personal computer industry,' said Richard Doherty, president of Envisioneering, a technology research firm."

Power-full game consoles... Good thing Windows NT/XP has a processor-independent kernel (e.g., used to compile to MIPS, Alpha, and PowerPC).