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Nintendo Selects Cypress's PSoC(R) Mixed-Signal Array For Hot New Game Boy(R) Micro

Posted on: Tuesday, 29 November 2005, 09:00 CST

Cypress Semiconductor (NYSE:CY) today announced that Nintendo Co., Ltd., a world leader in interactive entertainment, has adopted Cypress's PSoC(R) (Programmable System-on-Chip(TM)) mixed-signal array for its popular new portable game system, the Game Boy(R) Micro.

The fashionable Game Boy Micro is quite simply the smallest and sleekest Game Boy product that Nintendo has ever created. Game Boy Micro measures just 4 inches wide, 2 inches tall and 0.7 inches deep. It weighs 2.8 ounces, about the weight of 80 paper clips; yet it boasts the same power as previous Game Boy Advance models, complete with the ability to play all Game Boy Advance games, a library of more than 750 titles. Game Boy Micro features a 2-inch, crystal-clear backlit screen, and Start/Select buttons that glow with the cool, blue lighting found on many cell phones.

Nintendo selected Cypress's PSoC mixed-signal array for the new system. Nintendo used the PSoC device to manage multiple control functions in the Game Boy Micro, resulting in space savings, reduced design time and lower costs. The PSoC device delivers true system on a chip capability, offering programmable analog and digital blocks along with a fast, 8-bit microcontroller.

"We are very excited to be part of the world's best-selling video game system family," said George Saul, vice president of Cypress's PSoC Business Unit. "This design win highlights the strengths of the PSoC architecture for consumer applications, namely integration, flexibility and low cost."

About the PSoC Family

PSoC devices are configurable mixed signal arrays that integrate a fast 8-bit microcontroller with many peripheral functions typically found in an embedded design. PSoC devices provide the advantages of an ASIC without the ASIC NRE or turn-around time. A single PSoC device can integrate as many as 100 peripheral functions with a microcontroller, saving customers design time, board space, and power consumption. Customers can save from 5 cents to as much as $10 in system costs. Easy to use development tools enable designers to select configurable library elements to provide analog functions such as amplifiers, ADCs, DACs, filters and comparators and digital functions such as timers, counters, PWMs, SPI and UARTs. The PSoC family's analog features include rail-to-rail inputs, programmable gain amplifiers and up to 14-bit ADCs with exceptionally low noise, input leakage and voltage offset. PSoC devices include up to 32KB of Flash memory, 2KB of SRAM, an 8x8 multiplier with 32-bit accumulator, power and sleep monitoring circuits, and hardware I2C communications.

About Cypress

Cypress solutions are at the heart of any system that is built to perform: consumer, computation, data communications, automotive, industrial, and solar power. Leveraging a strong commitment to customer service and performance-based process and manufacturing expertise, Cypress's product portfolio includes a broad selection of wired and wireless USB devices, CMOS image sensors, timing solutions, network search engines, specialty memories, high-bandwidth synchronous and micropower memory products, optical solutions, and reconfigurable mixed-signal arrays. Cypress stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CY. More information about the company is available online at www.cypress.com.

About Nintendo

The worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home and portable video game systems.

For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.

Cypress, the Cypress logo and PSoC are registered trademarks, and Programmable System on Chip, is a trademark of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. Game Boy is a registered trademark of Nintendo Co., Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Source: Business Wire

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