ARM DEALERS

What does Nvidia’s proposed ARM merger mean for gamers?

- Phil Iwaniuk

From a PC gamer’s standpoint, Arm’s widespread usage outside our bubble is humbling. The UK-based microprocessor design company’s chips have been used in all Apple smartphones since 2008. They’ve effectively powered the total cultural and societal change we’ve experienced over the last decade. They also power most other smartphones and mobile devices, and there are around 180 billion chips out there to date. Even the PlayStation 4 snuck one into its architecture as a secondary processor, hidden away so discreetly it wasn’t discovered until 2020. It’s a bit like stepping into a McDonalds in Tokyo, seeing that the menu’s totally different, and realizing the world’s much bigger than your Intel x86, Big Mac brain had previously conceived.

In September 2020 Nvidia placed a $40bn (£31m) bid for Arm. Governments on both sides of the pond bristled and readied their lawyers in response. In the UK, a six-month inquiry was launched in order to examine the deal and assess its potential to damage competition in chip-making. Days after that, the United States Federal Trade Commission lodged its own objection, and launched a similar investigation. With many Arm customers being companies based in China, there was concern that the company may be being used as a foot soldier in a trade war. Now, in 2022, those investigations are still ongoing, and the merger has yet to be completed.

HANDS DOWN