In late 2002, Microsoft approached IBM about making the chip for Microsoft's rival game console, the (as yet unnamed) Xbox 360.

WSJ: Playing the Fool

But it does not seem to have occurred to Sony that IBM would sell key parts of the Cell before it was complete and to Sony's primary videogame-console competitor.

WSJ: Playing the Fool

While Sony has wisely adopted a standard x86 PC architecture for the its new game console (translation: developer friendly), the PS3 was driven by incompatible Power PC architecture from IBM.

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The Japanese firm is pinning its hopes on the processing power and storage capacity of its new console, which will include a revolutionary processing unit based on the new Cell chip, developed with IBM and Toshiba.

ECONOMIST: The Xbox factor | The