Philips and Gas Powered Games to Integrate Ambient Effects in Supreme Commander (gamezone)

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Philips amBX Peripherals Will Deliver, Light, Sound, Air and Rumble Effects Synched To The Action In The Highly-Anticipated PC CD-ROM Real-Time Strategy Game; Hitting Stores In Early January From THQ

Philips today announced that it has reached an agreement with Gas Powered Games, the Seattle-based developer of the widely acclaimed Dungeon Siege series, to fully amBX-enable the upcoming real-time strategy game Supreme Commander. Due to be published by THQ in early 2007 for the PC CD-ROM, Supreme Commander is set to become the first real-time strategy game to receive the amBX ‘ambient experiences’ treatment. Through amBX, Gas Powered Games will be able to deliver amazing light, wind, explosion and rumble effects in the real world as players navigate the huge gameplay landscape and command a vast array of vehicles, vessels and aircraft within the game world.

Set in the 37th century, Supreme Commander heralds the next evolution in the real-time strategy genre. The addition of amBX will deliver awe-inspiring and realistic land, sea and air effects into the gamer’s room, from the shell-shocking flash, bang and whoosh of artillery explosions to the helmet-rattling rumble of fearsome tanks.

“Gas Powered Games really are at the top of their game and having them on-board highlights just how seriously the development community is taking amBX, and that it is a “must have” technology for new games as well as a tool for refreshing old games,” said Jo Cooke, Chief Marketing Officer, Philips amBX. “Supreme Commander, as our first real time strategy game, will see amBX really come into its element through all kinds of creative light, wind and rumble effects, bringing the battlefield right into the home.”

“I ‘got’ amBX the moment I saw it – I really liked the way it added to the visual experience,” said Chris Taylor, Gas Powered Games. “ I also liked feeling the wind in my face, it made the whole game experience more real. I think there is a lot of potential to have the experience ‘underscored’, so to speak, by having the high points (or low points) in the game accompanied by the various amBX effects.”

Philips has established a global standard by licensing the amBX technology to computer game developers, publishers and peripherals manufacturers. Gas Powered Games joins a burgeoning army of partners supporting amBX-enabled games and peripherals, including software developers and publishers Codemasters, THQ, Kuju, Introversion, Revolution and Sumo Digital, and hardware manufacturers Philips Peripherals & Accessories and SpectraVideo. Additional announcements are forthcoming as Philips is currently in the closing stages of agreements with a number of other high profile companies regarding amBX-enabling games in a variety of genres.