Sony officially buys Wii U DRAM manufacturing plant for ¥7.51 billion

Sony has finalised its acquisition of Japanese manufacturing plant Renesas Electronics, the same site that produces the Wii U's DRAM chip. While Sony has issued a press release on the matter, Nintendo is yet to discuss it.

We first reported on the rumoured ¥7 billion take-over earlier in the week. Just hit the link for all of the details.

Now, Sony has purchased the plant, located in Tsuruoka, Yamagata prefecture. The site was acquired for ¥7.51 billion, which is around $73 million, and gives Sony ownership of the whole business as of March 31.

The plant was due to be closed to make way for a major restructuring effort, but Sony has vowed to oversee the site and even absorb some of Renesas' staff into its ranks. Sony will use the location to open its new Yamagata Technology Center, geared primarily towards the production of CMOS smartphone sensors, with a promise to invest a further ¥27.5 billion into bolstering production.

Sony's official statement reads, "After the Asset Transfer, the system LSIs and others produced at the Tsuruoka Factory will be produced there for Renesas Electronics by SCK (Sony Semiconductor Corporation) on a contract basis for a certain period of time as agreed by Renesas Electronics and Sony.

"After expiration of that period, Renesas Electronics will shift the production of the system LSIs to its Naka Factory or discontinue production, as Renesas Electronics previously announced to its customers."

We'll update you if Nintendo steps forward with a statement, as it's currently unclear where this leaves its DRAM chip production.

Via DualShockers.