Micron Acquiring Rendition

Micron, maker of RAM chips, has acquired Rendition. This, I fear, is the end for the Rendition video card line. Rendition was a trailblazer. The Verite V1000, introduced at the end of 1996, was one of the first 3D chips to show how 3D acceleration would transform the way games were played on the PC. 3DFX was introducing a superior 3D-only solution at about the same time, but Rendition had a tremendous lead over other 2D/3D accelerators and never required a second card for 2D.

Sadly, Rendition was unable to capitalize on that head start. 3DFX quickly came to dominate the retail add-in market, while NVIDIA rose from obscurity to rein on the OEM side. Rendition’s next-generation V2200 series was simply too little too late to capture any market share. And, with no third-generation part on the near-term horizon, Rendition, and its investors, should count themselves lucky to have found an ally in Micron.

The deal should be finalized by September.