Philips Announces amBX License Agreement With Gas Powered Games For Supreme Commander
An army marches on its stomach, which is why Philips today turned up the heat on amBX with a red-hot developer agreement to amBX-enable Supreme Commander from Gas Powered Games, the Seattle-based developer of the widely-acclaimed Dungeon Siege series.

Due to be published by THQ in early 2007, Supreme Commander is set to become the first real-time strategy game to receive the amBX ‘ambient experiences’ treatment and will allow Gas Powered Games to deliver amazing light, wind, explosion and rumble effects across the huge gameplay landscape and vast array of vehicles, vessels and aircraft.

Set in the 37th century, Supreme Commander heralds the next evolution in the real time strategy genre and 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 those fearsome tank tracks.

“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,” commented 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,” commented 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 and Gas Powered Games joins a burgeoning army of partners supporting amBX-enabled games and peripherals, including Codemasters, THQ, Kuju, Introversion, Revolution, Sumo Digital, Philips Peripherals & Accessories and SpectraVideo. Philips is currently in the closing stages of agreements with a raft of other high profile companies regarding amBX-enabling all kinds of games.

Created by Philips, amBX is a giant leap in the development of ambient intelligence and will revolutionise the gameplay experience by extending the gaming world out of the screen and into the real world. amBX will provide gamers with a full ‘sensory surround experience’ by kitting developers with a tool box to use light, colour, sound and even air flow.

Using a scripting language, software engine and architecture, the amBX platform has been designed to deliver all-new player experiences through enabled devices, including the Philips amBX PC Gaming Peripherals range of LED colour-controlled lighting, rumble peripherals and desktop fans, all placed strategically around the player’s room.