ATLANTA, June 19, 1997 — Softimage Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp., and Psygnosis Inc., a subsidiary of Sony, announced at E 3 that Psygnosis is using Softimage® 3D to create most of its games for the PlayStation Ô game console and the PC – games such as Colony Wars Ô , Formula 1 ’97, Psybadek Ô, Rascal Ô and Shadowmaster ÔThese upcoming titles push the artistic envelope and take the games format to a new level of excellence in graphics and game play.
“Psygnosis customers have grown accustomed to our continual delivery of games that enthrall, excite and engage the player,” said Dominic Mallinson, director of technology at Psygnosis. “This new lineup is no exception. Softimage allows our designers the freedom to be more creative and continually exceed game-player expectations.”
Colony Wars
Colony Wars, one of the hottest games scheduled for delivery in November, is a real-time, 3-D, sci-fi, space-shooter game that combines arcade action with epic drama in a galactic adventure spanning five solar systems. The Psygnosis Liverpool studio is using Softimage 3D Extreme to create this nonlinear adventure with 60 intricate missions, which fall into 18 acts. Mental Ray is used exclusively to fully render the dramatic 3-D sequences that tell the story of the Colony Wars, which includes six drastically different endings to the game.
Softimage Enhances Game Development
Softimage is dedicated to game development and has devoted a team to enhance Softimage 3D to meet the needs of game developers like Pysgnosis. To improve game development, new game-specific features have been added to Softimage 3D, including texture prelighting, integrated 3-D paint with color at vertex, hierarchy filtering and specific game development environments (GDEs) for Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and the Microsoft® DirectX
™
set of APIs.
“Softimage is committed to providing the most powerful set of game development tools in the industry,” said Moshe Lichtman, president of Softimage. “By optimizing Softimage 3D for the PlayStation game console, Softimage is offering PlayStation developers such as Psygnosis the most comprehensive, cost-effective solution for that powerful platform. We are blown away by the cutting-edge titles Psygnosis consistently introduces to the game market.”
Company Information
Founded in 1986, Softimage develops software for media-rich applications including video, film, interactive games and CD-ROM applications. Products include Softimage 3D (high-end animation), Softimage Eddie (compositing) and Softimage Toonz (2-D cel animation). Additional information about Softimage and Microsoft can be found via the Internet at (http://www.softimage.com/) and http://www.microsoft.com/ , respectively.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Psygnosis employs over 600 people, with publishing and development offices in the United States, the United Kingdom and across Europe. Working with more than 30 development teams and six internal development sites, the company is now the largest development house in Europe. Psygnosis is a subsidiary of Sony. Psygnosis’ latest offerings (including current and future titles), game tips, contests, press releases and company information are accessible on the Web at (http://www.psygnosis.com/) .
Softimage is a registered trademark of Softimage Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp.
PlayStation is a trademark of Sony.
Colony Wars, Psybadek, Rascal and Shadowmaster are trademarks of Psygnosis Inc.
Microsoft and DirectX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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