PPU + GPU + CPU = Xbox 360?

It's hard to tell the difference between hype and reality sometimes. We all thought the MMX instruction set would revolutionize gaming. Sure, it helped titles like Unreal get off the ground, but, with all the marketing-speak you would have thought nations were about to be built with MMX.

With that grain-of-salt in our cereal, TeamXbox brings word of AGEIA Technologies. The company's PPU is a chip dedicated to game physics. It sure sounds smart. Why not have some silicon just hash out all the ups and downs of your game world? Ultimately, the point of the tech is to take some load off the CPU and make game development "easier" (for want of a better phrase).

Apparently, Ubisoft has signed on to use the tech in some next-gen games, while MS has approved the company's middleware. Is this a sign that Xbox360 will have "PPU Inside"? The CEO of AGEIA is being coy, so we'll have to wait around a month to find out.

[via Shacknews]