Taproot
Regular
From. March 2023. Definitely worth a read for anyone who gives a sh$t 
From Silicon to Donkey Kong:
A Case Study in the Use of Semiconductors in Video Game Consoles
Nathan Lotze Office of Industry and Competitiveness Analysis U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) March 2023
Some of the most common analog chips seen in the three consoles relate to power management. These include DC voltage converters, power management IC’s, step-down converters, and low dropout regulators. Broadly speaking, these chips regulate voltage and supply power to components throughout the console. The most prominent suppliers of power chips seen in these consoles include Texas Instruments (United States) and Richtek (Taiwan).52 Texas Instruments was the leading analog IC manufacturer in the world in 2021.53 Texas Instruments operates wafer fabrication facilities in the United States, China, Germany, and Japan.54 There is limited available information on the manufacturer for Richtek, but it appears TSMC is the predominant foundry used by its parent company, MediaTek.55 Another common set of chips found in these consoles pertain to audio and video. Each console has a semiconductor responsible for video output: a MegaChips (Japan) Mobility DisplayPort to HDMI converter in the Switch, an ON Semiconductor (United States) HDMI/DisplayPort level shifter/linear redriver in the Xbox, and a Panasonic (Japan) HDMI redriver in the PlayStation.56 In order to maintain signal integrity at high speeds from the console to the video output device (usually a television or monitor), a redriver is used to boost the signal.57 Level shifters allow compatibility between IC’s operating at different voltages.58 MegaChips is a fabless Japanese company whose primary manufacturer is Macronix International (Taiwan).59 ON Semiconductor has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia.60 Panasonic transferred its semiconductor business to Nuvoton Technology (Taiwan) in 2020.61 Chips relating to audio include Realtek (Taiwan) audio signal converters (codecs)62 and Nuvoton audio amplifiers.63 Realtek is a fabless semiconductor firm with foundry agreements with TSMC, United Microelectronics Corporation (Taiwan), and others.
From Silicon to Donkey Kong:
A Case Study in the Use of Semiconductors in Video Game Consoles
Nathan Lotze Office of Industry and Competitiveness Analysis U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) March 2023
Some of the most common analog chips seen in the three consoles relate to power management. These include DC voltage converters, power management IC’s, step-down converters, and low dropout regulators. Broadly speaking, these chips regulate voltage and supply power to components throughout the console. The most prominent suppliers of power chips seen in these consoles include Texas Instruments (United States) and Richtek (Taiwan).52 Texas Instruments was the leading analog IC manufacturer in the world in 2021.53 Texas Instruments operates wafer fabrication facilities in the United States, China, Germany, and Japan.54 There is limited available information on the manufacturer for Richtek, but it appears TSMC is the predominant foundry used by its parent company, MediaTek.55 Another common set of chips found in these consoles pertain to audio and video. Each console has a semiconductor responsible for video output: a MegaChips (Japan) Mobility DisplayPort to HDMI converter in the Switch, an ON Semiconductor (United States) HDMI/DisplayPort level shifter/linear redriver in the Xbox, and a Panasonic (Japan) HDMI redriver in the PlayStation.56 In order to maintain signal integrity at high speeds from the console to the video output device (usually a television or monitor), a redriver is used to boost the signal.57 Level shifters allow compatibility between IC’s operating at different voltages.58 MegaChips is a fabless Japanese company whose primary manufacturer is Macronix International (Taiwan).59 ON Semiconductor has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia.60 Panasonic transferred its semiconductor business to Nuvoton Technology (Taiwan) in 2020.61 Chips relating to audio include Realtek (Taiwan) audio signal converters (codecs)62 and Nuvoton audio amplifiers.63 Realtek is a fabless semiconductor firm with foundry agreements with TSMC, United Microelectronics Corporation (Taiwan), and others.