Nvidia: PS4 snub "clearly not a technology thing", consoles an "opportunity cost"

The PlayStation 4 uses AMD tech, and Microsoft's upcoming console is heavily rumoured to do the same, but rival Nvidia doesn't care, saying next-gen consoles aren't worth the company's time.

Nividia supplied tech for the current generation of consoles, but speaking with GameSpot, senior vice president of content and technology Tony Tamasi said it wasn't interested this time.

"I'm sure there was a negotiation that went on, and we came to the conclusion that we didn't want to do the business at the price those guys were willing to pay," he said.

"Having been through the original Xbox and PS3, we understand the economics of [console development] and the tradeoffs."

Tamasi said Nvidia is "building a whole bunch of stuff" in other areas, and didn't want to devote resources to console tech.

"We had to look at console business as an opportunity cost. If we say, did a console, what other piece of our business would we put on hold to chase after that?" he said.

"In the end, you only have so many engineers and so much capability, and if you're going to go off and do chips for Sony or Microsoft, then that's probably a chip that you're not doing for some other portion of your business."

Tamasi didn't say anything about Microsoft's Durango, of course, but said that when it comes to Sony, AMD had business to spare while Nvidia didn't.

"We'll see how that plays out from a business perspective I guess. It's clearly not a technology thing," he added.

Thanks, DrDamn.