Dreamcast Tech to be Licensed?

The Asian edition of the Wall Street Journal claims that Sega is in talks with semiconductor makers to set up a venture to make better chips for the Dreamcast and other devices. If it were to happen, the AWSJ sets a dollar figure at $100 million, with Sega paying for 35% of that, and things would happen by the Fall. NEC, Hitachi, and Phillips would be prospective licensees. However, Sega has denied this.

Keep in mind that Sega actually did do this with the Genesis long ago (does the term X’EYE ring a bell? I didn’t think so; though it was a real console JVC made), so this is a real possibility.