Nintendo 64 Demo at E3 Shows NEC's MIPS, ASIC and Rambus Technologies

Business Wire, May 15, 1996

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 1996--NEC Electronics Inc. announced today that its MIPS RISC microprocessor, its advanced process technology ASIC, and 18M Rambus DRAM (RDRAM) technologies will be in the first U.S. demonstration of the Nintendo 64 home video game system at the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) here.

A custom chip based on NEC's VR4300, a 64-bit processor, powers the Nintendo 64 with high-speed data computations and floating point calculations which make physical simulation of real-world environments and artificial intelligence possible. To accommodate the high throughout speed of the VR4300-based chip, the system utilizes the 18M RDRAM, which can transfer data at a rate of 500 megabytes per second (MBps). Together, the NEC VR4300 customized microprocessor and 18M RDRAM provide a high-performance solution at an affordable price for cost-sensitive markets.

"As upcoming multimedia applications perform more interactive and graphic-intensive operations, it is vital that advanced technologies be available to support them," said Ray Newstead, VR-Series sr. marketing manager for NEC Electronics. "Because NEC offers an extensive line of high-performance products, we are able to support customers like Nintendo, by providing them complete solutions for their advancing, next-generation requirements."

According to Gerd Schauss, memory products marketing manager for NEC Electronics, "NEC's manufacturing capabilities and advanced process technology allows the company to manufacture and market affordable, high-performing devices for home entertainment applications, something that was previously only available in high-end graphics workstations."

NEC's ASIC Technology

The Reality Co-Processor, designed specifically by Silicon Graphics for Nintendo, and manufactured by NEC using its advanced 0.35-micron process combines the most advanced features necessary to create the Nintendo 64 real-time game environment. The NEC ASIC features: high frame for highly complex images, dynamic media mixing for real-time processing of audio 2D and 3D graphic processing, real-time/anti-aliasing, creating smooth and realistic views, advanced texture mapping techniques, real-time depth buffering, and automatic load management, for smooth, realistic graphics.

NEC's RDRAM Technology

The Rambus technology is currently the industry's highest bandwidth memory architecture. It is based on a high speed, chip-to-chip interface that is incorporated on DRAMs, processors and controllers to achieve higher performance rates than are currently available in existing DRAM devices.

NEC licenses the Rambus technology from Rambus Inc. and was the first to provide an RDRAM at the 16M and 18M densities. NEC's most recent addition to its line of Rambus offerings is the 8M RDRAM.

The 18M RDRAM devices are manufactured using 0.5-micron CMOS process technology. They feature low-power consumption per data transfer and their built-in self-refresh operation ensures a low data retention current.

The Rambus high-bandwidth DRAM solution can be used as graphics memory for high-end desktops, workstations and multimedia systems.

NEC's VR Series

NEC licenses MIPS RISC technology from MIPS Technologies. Using this technology, NEC manufactures the VR-Series line of high-performance microprocessors. The company has one of the broadest lines of MIPS-based microprocessors, including the VR4000, VR4100, VR4200, VR4300, VR4400, VR5000 and VR10000 64-bit RISC offerings.

Featuring 0.35-micron drawn process technology, the VR4300-based chip features 64-bit registers, data paths and buffers to ensure high-speed data movement within the chip.

The full performance advantages of NEC's MIPS RISC architectures can be taken in price-sensitive applications such as set-top boxes, video entertainment games, network devices and laser printers.

About NEC

NEC Electronics Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., manufactures and markets an extensive line of electronic products including ASICs, microprocessors and microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), memories and components, including flat panel displays. The company operates a 676,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Roseville, Calif. and ranks fourth in semiconductors sales in the United States(1). NEC Electronics Inc. is an affiliate of NEC Corporation (NIPNY), a $43 billion international manufacturer of computer, communications and semiconductor products. -0-

(1) According to Dataquest (1/96).

Note to Editors: NEC, VR Series and VR4000, VR4100, VR4200, VR4300, VR4400, VR5000, VR10000 are registered trademarks or trademarks of NEC Corp. MIPS is a registered trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc. Nintendo, Nintendo 64 are registered trademarks or trademarks of Nintendo. Rambus and RDRAM are trademarks of Rambus Inc.

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