Taiwan to supply 55% of global game consoles this year: IT IS

Taipei, Feb. 19, 2003 (CENS)--Taiwanese contact suppliers of game consoles to major international brands are expected to account for 55% of the global supply this year, up from last year's about 40%, according to the Industrial Technology Information Service & Promotion Project (IT IS).

The National Science Council (NSC) of the Executive Yuan recently released a white paper on 3C (computer, communication, and consumer electronics) industry integration. According to NSC executive secretary Lee Pao-shu, more and more game console brands are contracting out production to cut costs. Lee added that game console brands generally make most of their money on game software rather than the hardware itself.

Statistics compiled by the IT IS show that Taiwan contract makers supplied 8.42 million PlayStation 2 (PS2) game consoles to Sony of Japan last year, and the volume is expected to grow to 11.27 million units this year. Sony is releasing more and more contract business to its major game console suppliers in Taiwan, including Hon Hai Precision Ind. And Asustek Computer Inc., as the PS2 model has been gaining popularity and the Japanese company is now working on the release of its new PS3 console, IT IS said. Hon Hai and Asustek are expected to account for 55% of the PS-2 global supply this year, outpacing Sony's own production in Japan.

Nintendo of Japan used to self-produce all of its GameCube consoles in Japan but has decided to contract out production to cut costs. The company is scheduled to commission its partner in Taiwan, the Q-Run Technology Corp., to produce 3.63 million GameCubes this year, accounting for one-third of Nintendo's global supply.

In addition to Q-Run's assembly business, several Taiwanese parts suppliers have also won orders from Nintendo. Macronix International Co., Ltd. Is providing flash memory, Delta Electronics, Inc. is supplying power supply units, Nan Ya Printed Circuit Board Corp. is providing printed circuit boards, and G-Shank Co. is supplying connectors and stamped parts.

Lee said that several local companies have won also assembly and parts orders from Microsoft for its Xbox game console model, including Wistron Corp., which is expected to ship about 1.8 million Xboxes to Microsoft this year, representing 20% of Microsoft's global supply and up from last year's 375,000 units.