ATI's Work on Next Xbox "Winding Down"

GameSpot is reporting that ATI CFO Terry Nickerson claimed that the company is getting close to finishing up their work on Microsoft's next Xbox console during the Barney Citigroup 2004 Technology Conference in New York. An excerpt from their newsbit:
If true, Nickerson's statement could mean that the Xbox Next is closer to release than previously thought. In July, Steve Ballmer said that the device wouldn't be out "in the next year," meaning at least not until August 2005. However, while rumors persist that it will be unveiled at CES in January, the common consensus is that the machine will most likely go on sale in Q4 2005.