CES 2008: Ubisoft Makes Nice With amBX
Call me classy, but the whole neon-undercarriage-on-your-SUV, colored-ambient-light-behind-your-plasma-TV thing has never really spoken to my heart. I've always thought of those trends, like fancy blue LEDs on newer PCs, as the airbrushed-van of the new millennium.
If that's so, then Ubisoft's announcement that it will be supporting the amBX system is like Ronald Regan getting a mullet. Or not - I'm notoriously bad at predicting fads. In any event, Philip's amBX system combines a PC speaker system with ambient lights that can display a whopping 16 million colors as well as rumble and airflow effects (note the fan). It's worth noting that Philips is the company that brought the "Ambilight" back-lighting effect to flat-panel televisions.
Far Cry 2 and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway will be the first two Ubisoft titles to be compatible with the as-yet-unreleased tech.
Philips arms Ubisoft with amBX
7th January 2008 - Redhill, UK – Philips today announced an alliance with Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, to amBX-enable Brothers in Arms Hell’s Highway and Far Cry 2, both due for release in 2008. The agreement will also see an amBX patch being released for the original Far Cry. Further patches for existing Ubisoft games will also be released with the amBX-enabling of additional titles to be announced later.
Demonstrations of amBX-enabled versions of Brothers in Arms Hell’s Highway and Far Cry will be available on the Philips stand, Central 12124, at CES, Las Vegas from 7th to 10th January 2008.
Shorthand for ‘ambient experiences’, amBX reinvents the gameplay experience by extending the traditional gaming world out of the screen and into the real world. amBX delivers full ‘surround senses’ by allowing developers to use light, colour, sound, rumble and even air flow through enabled devices, including the Philips amBX PC Gaming Peripherals range of LED colour-controlled lighting, rumble peripherals and variable speed desktop fans.
Developed by Gearbox Software, Brothers in Arms Hell’s Highway proudly builds on the critically acclaimed World War II game franchise and sees players dropped into Operation Market-Garden, the largest paratrooper operation in wartime history, fighting to open the famous ‘Hell’s Highway’ in a daring bid for a quick end to the war. Incorporating amBX in Brothers in Arms Hell’s Highway will create a huge arsenal of real world effects and experiences using air movement, light and rumble.
Variable speed fan effects will simulate wind speed from soldier movement on foot, in the air and in vehicles, as well as punches of airbursts from explosions and object collision. LED light effects will deliver directional light - across a 16 million colour range - to indicate danger, bullet and shrapnel impact and simulate everything from the use of torches in dark environments to full-on explosions. Finally, rumble effects will create distinct tyre and track rumble from different vehicle types, a wide range of weapon recoil effects and the thud and shock of being on the receiving end of a bullet, grenade or bomb. All these explosive amBX effects will be running throughout both gameplay and the game’s detailed cinematic cut scenes.
The original Far Cry won PC Gamer’s ‘Action Game of the Year’ Award in 2004. Since then the Far Cry brand has gathered critical acclaim and numerous awards, selling a whopping three million units. Developed by Ubisoft’s Montreal Studio, Far Cry 2 is all set to continue the original’s award-winning success and despatches the player to a collapsing central African country to tackle a factional mercenary conflict.
Using the developer’s tailor-made Dunia game engine, Far Cry 2 will deliver incredibly realistic destructible environments, special effects such as dynamic fire and storm effects, real-time day and night cycle, dynamic music and non-scripted enemy A.I. - all of which will be given the real world treatment through the amBX light, fan and rumble effects.
“In striving to create high quality games, incorporating the most innovative technologies to produce the best possible gaming experience is of fundamental importance to Ubisoft,” commented Vincent Greco, Worldwide Production Technical Coordinator, Ubisoft. “With amBX we can enhance the immersive experience, adding a new dimension to our games.”
“Working with one of the world’s largest publishers on two of the most successful gaming franchises of all time is an amazing opportunity for our amBX technology to really shine in front of a worldwide audience,” commented Jo Cooke, Chief Marketing Officer, Philips amBX. “Brothers in Arms Hell’s Highway and Far Cry 2 are titles that will showcase just how powerful and in your face amBX effects can be in a war game. This is just the start of the alliance between amBX and Ubisoft and the level of our co-marketing with Ubisoft will underline our dedication to bringing all-new ambient effects to world class games.”
Philips is setting a global standard by licensing the amBX technology to computer game developers, publishers and peripherals manufacturers and Ubisoft joins a rapidly growing list of content creators, including Codemasters, THQ, Introversion, Gearbox Software, Gas Powered Games, Zombie, Riot Games, Brain in a Jar, Invictus Games, Instinct Technology, Kuju, Revolution, Sumo Digital and Rivers Run Red.
A full list of specifically amBX-enabled, modded and FXGenerator compatible games, searchable by genre and publisher, can be found at www.ambx.com.
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Posted to Miscellany on 8 January 2008
· Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: ambx, brothers in arms, ces 2008, far cry 2, philips, ubisoft
Oh yeah, I remember that from last year's GDC. They had a working model of an entire room that was fitted with the technology. It was great. It used a war scene and the floor shook with all the marching battlers, and big fans went full force when it was focused on an arrow in flight.
Interesting, but I don't really see this being supported in too many games, or being a big seller.
i think the light thing is distracting and lame. boo
We are sure at the beginning of the road for game peripherals .. check for example http://www.a-r-e.nl which incorporates advanced AI to identify in game events for translation into real world effects!!