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September 6th, 2005
AGEIA Aligns with Major Graphics Board Company – to Market 3D Interactive Technology
AGEIA Technologies, Inc., which produces hardware-accelerated physics chips and support software for interactive 3D real-time
rendered games and potential new markets such as interactive engineering simulation, has aligned BFG Technologies, Inc., a
well-known supplier of 3D graphics cards, in a retail distribution agreement. Besides distribution, the agreement calls for
BFG to also manufacture, sell and market the cards based on AGEIA’s PhysX processor. The boards are expected to be distributed
throughout the United States and Canada as well as in the European Union.
Scott Herkelman, executive vice president of marketing for BFG Technologies implied that the PhysX technology represented
the next generation of game technology, "There is no doubt that the next evolution of PC gaming hardware will include technologies
that dramatically improve realistic motion and physics in the game environment. We are proud that AGEIA has chosen BFG Technologies
to be one of the driving forces for getting their ground-breaking new PhysX processor into consumers' hands."
As part of the agreement, BFG Technologies will offer PCI cards based on the AGEIA PhysX processor and 128MB of local memory.
Products are expected to be available before the end of the year. It was however not indicated if the graphics cards would
be available in time to fill Christmas stockings.
BFG Technologies presently provides 3D video cards based on graphic chips for market leader, NVIDIA. BFG markets its graphic
cards, motherboards and power supplies through an extensive retail chain, which in the United States includes popular consumer
sales outlets such Best Buy, CompUSA, Wal-Mart, Fry's Electronics, and Newegg.com. In Canada one can find BFG products at
CompuSmart/CompuCentre and Staples Canada Overseas. In the United Kingdom, BFG’s products are found at Dabs.com, Overclockers
UK and PC World/Dixons.
September 6th, 2005
Christmas Xbox to Be Based On Infineon’s Chips
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 consoles based on a broad line of standard and custom development Infineon Technologies’
chips are expected to be on the shelves for the Christmas season. The video game based entertainment system will include a
memory controller, specially designed by Infineon, an ASIC based wireless game pad controller chip for wireless control and
an advanced security chip.
Central to the selection of Infineon was the underlying theme of the ability of chip companies to offer complete system
solutions and to work with Microsoft’s team. According to Marc Whitten, Director, Xbox Peripherals at Microsoft. "Collaboration
with leading suppliers of semiconductors and electronic components is essential to the realization of Microsoft's vision to
deliver entirely new capabilities in consumer entertainment. Infineon's broad and complementary IP portfolio, system integration
skill, manufacturing expertise and proven track record were crucial factors in our decision to work with the company on these
components." Echoing those sentiments was Peter Bauer, the Head of Automotive, Industrial and Multimarket business group at
Infineon, "Today, customers require a system view to technology development in order to achieve increased performance, lower
cost and a higher level of integration. Infineon is taking this system design approach to bring more value to its key customers."
Infineon indicated that its IP (Intellectual Property) is playing a critical role in the development of the chips for the
Xbox 360 in the areas of security, memory control and embedded firmware. The company also reported that it created the embedded
software, designed the system printed circuit board and that its security chip was a custom implementation based on its own
technology. Infineon is a major market leader in the smart card and automatic identification chip market, and hence has developed
significant security technology - security technology that could be easily applied to pay-per-play video games.
Infineon said that the chips were developed in locations in Germany, Israel and Italy and are to be manufactured in France,
but indicated that the chips could be manufacturing easily in a number of other locations.
August 30th, 2005
AGEIA Technologies Selected as Basis for Massively-Multiplayer Online Games
AGEIA Technologies has reported that it will be a player in the massively-multi-player online games market through a
license agreement with Mythic Entertainment, the company that markets Dark Age of Camelot. Mythic plans to use AGEIA’s
phsyX platform as part of line of massively-multi-player online role playing games (MMORPG) based on the Warhammer fantasy
world theme. Warhammer, expected for release in 2007 will permit any player with a PC equipped with AGEIA’s physX processor
to play in a world of interactive reality.
Commenting on the agreement and new products was Mark Jacobs, CEO of Mythic Entertainment, "At Mythic, we strive to continually
upgrade our technology and improve the game experience for our online communities, and AGEIA's physX technology adds a new
dimension that will make Warhammer an incredible online adventure. With this agreement with AGEIA, we're confident that we
can continue to surprise and challenge our customers with new levels of immersion and realism in all of our upcoming titles."
Kathy Schoback, vice president of content acquisition at AGEIA sees great promise for Mythic’s on-line games based
on its chip technology, "Mythic Entertainment is a proven leader in the rapidly growing market for online games, and an excellent
partner for introducing AGEIA physX technology to this target audience. With the dedication and talent of the Mythic team,
we have high expectations for what they can achieve with Warhammer using the AGEIA physX SDK and the AGEIA physX processor."
August 24th, 2005
Analog Devices Develops Consumer Oriented High Definition Video Wireless Technology
Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI), reported that it will demonstrate its video wireless transmission technology at the
DisplaySearch HDTV conference this week. The company indicated that the JPEG2000 based technology has overcome the limitations
of wireless video technology such as effects of error on visual quality and quality images in noisy environments. The company
sees potential markets in high definition (HD) gaming applications and low cost video distribution in the home.
The company’s demonstration is based on Pulse-Link’s CWAVE UWB technology. According to John Santhoff, Chief
Technology Officer at Pulse-LINK, "Pulse-LINK's CWave UWB technology combined with Analog Devices JPEG2000 codec solves many
of the challenges associated with implementing QoS for streaming HDTV wirelessly. Together, these technologies produce a low-latency,
highly responsive interactive video gaming experience wirelessly as well as the first lossless wireless alternative to DVI
and HDMI."
Bill Bucklen, product line director, high-speed converters. at Analog Devices indicated that Analog Devices is experienced
in advanced television applications, "Analog Devices is no stranger to developing high-performance components for advanced
TV applications, including those in the ever-expanding HD market. We are pleased to team with Pulse-LINK to deliver a wireless
HD solution that makes wireless distribution of professional quality video available to the consumer electronics market."
Analog Devices’ chip used for video distribution is called the ADV202 and comes in a 12mm x 12mm BGA package. The
chip can be purchased now in production quantities. Analog Devices indicated that the chip is fundamental to future low-cost
versions for consumer applications.
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