Sony working on new handheld?

Posted by T3 Online on Mon 27 Mar 2006

Chip-maker wins new contract to make graphics processors for Sony - so what are they for?

Graphics card manufacturer Nvidia, which will be supplying the parts of the PlayStation 3 that make everything look so pretty, has confirmed that it has secured another contract with the industry giant to work on an as yet unspecified project.

Nvidia's Mary Burnett told Reuters, "We have a contract to do engineering work for them. I don't think I should discuss what that product is." Oh, you tease, you.

The company earned around $30 million for its work on the PS3, and intriguingly, Burkett went on to say that the new contract is worth "probably slightly more" that that.

Seeing as Nvidia only deals in graphics processors and related software, we reckon this has got to be something to do with gaming hardware - although further than that it's difficult to see what Sony could be up to. With the PS3 launch still several months off, it's unthinkable that Sony could be working on its successor already - which leaves us with only the PSP.

Could Sony be paying Nvidia-all this-money for some kind of new handheld graphics card for a next generation-"PSP2"? At the moment it seems the most likely explanation - Sony-is bound to-have some kind of PSP 2 in the works --but chances are we won't know the truth for a long time. Keep it locked here for more info.