E3 Coverage: New Nintendo Console Brought To You By IBM

Nintendo's next generation console, the Wii U, was made possible by IBM.

Nintendo announced the Wii U at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. It is a console/controller combo with a 6.2-inch screen and controller buttoms. The controller can operate as its own gaming platform and play Wii games separately from the big screen. It can also be used as a traditional controller in the sense it can use motion-sensing to control the action on the big screen.

(Wii 2 Is A Wii U)

The Wii was made with impressive graphical and technical capabilities and Nintendo has IBM to thank for this. Soon after the Nintendo keynote at E3, IBM announced it was providing the microprocessors that will go into the new Wii U system.

The 45 nm chip created by IBM has a lot of embedded DRAM. It is able to feed the core processor large chunks of data to make for a smooth process.

We're very proud to have delivered to Nintendo consistent technology advancements for three generations of entertainment consoles, Elmer Corbin, IBM's custom chip business director, said in a statement. Our relationship with Nintendo underscores our unique position in the industry -- how we work together with clients to help them leverage IBM technology, intellectual property and research to drive innovation into their own core products.

The chip uses the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology and has the same processor technology used by IBM's Watson. The IBM created robot won a round of Jeopardy! this year by displaying its question-answering technology prowess.

IBM has been a terrific partner for many years. We truly value IBM's commitment to support Nintendo in delivering an entirely new kind of gaming and entertainment experience for consumers around the world, Genyo Takeda senior managing director at Nintendo said in a statemenet.

The two companies have been working together since 1999 when IBM created the central microprocessor for Nintendo's GameCube system. Since 2006, IBM has shipped 90 million chips for the Wii. Chips for the Wii U will be made at IBM's state-of-the-art 300mm semiconductor development and manufacturing facility in East Fishkill, N.Y.

Follow Gabriel Perna on Twitter at @GabrielSPerna