Sony Computer Entertainment Enters Into Strategic Licensing Agreement With Havok
World’s First Class Physics Engine To Be Included in Software Development Kit for PS3
Tokyo, July 21, 2005 - Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) announced today that it had entered into a strategic licensing agreement with Havok, a leading physics engine provider and based in Dublin, Ireland and San Francisco, U.S.A., effective July 20, 2005. Through this agreement, SCEI obtains sublicensing rights of physics and animation engines for PLAYSTATION®3 as well as the related content and debugging tools developed by Havok.
With the use of Havok's physics engine, content creators will be able to have physics laws that govern the real world reproduced in the world of computer entertainment. Various factors that exist in the real world, such as gravity, collision, friction and other dynamic forces can be blended seamlessly with physically-based character animation and their images can be rendered swiftly in real-time. Through the licensing agreement, optimized PLAYSTATION 3 libraries of Havok's physics and animation engines as well as a wealth of tools, including linkers and debuggers, will be included as one total solution in the Software Development Kit for PLAYSTATION 3. Frontline support will be provided by SCEI.
"It is our pleasure to have a strategic licensing agreement with Havok," said Masa Chatani, corporate executive and CTO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "With its cutting edge technology, Havok's physics engine is highly supported by numbers of content creators around the world. By including Havok's technology in the PS3 Software Development Kit, every developer will be able to utilize physics engine to create next generation content with real and natural effects."
"We are excited and proud to partner with SCEI to provide our physics and animation technology with the PS3 development kit," said David O'Meara, CEO of Havok. "Havok's technology has been used by major developers all over the world in more than a hundred games. Our agreement with SCEI opens the door for all PS3 developers to use Havok to create spectacular game worlds with incredibly realistic special effects and interactive game characters."
About Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Recognized as the global leader and company responsible for the progression of consumer-based computer entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) manufacturers, distributes and markets the PlayStation® game console, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the PlayStation®Portable (PSP®) handheld entertainment system. PlayStation has revolutionized home entertainment by introducing advanced 3D graphic processing, and PlayStation 2 further enhances the PlayStation legacy as the core of home networked entertainment. PSP is a new portable entertainment system that allows users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. SCEI, along with its subsidiary divisions Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd., and Sony Computer Entertainment Korea Inc. develops, publishes, markets and distributes software, and manages the third party licensing programs for these platforms in the respective markets worldwide. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. is an independent business unit of the Sony Group.
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