VICON Leads Market For Motion Capture In Games

16th March 2006, Oxford: VICON, a leading developer of motion capture systems and part of the OMG Group, today confirmed its position as the leading provider of motion capture systems and services for game development, with the addition of several new games industry customers to its client list.

More than 800 VICON MX40 cameras have been installed since June 2004. VICON's newest games customers are iD Software and Eurocom Entertainment Software.

Other leading games industry companies using the VICON MX40 include Ubisoft, SQUARE ENIX, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Microsoft, Midway Games, Quantic Dream, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Capcom, Konami, NAMCO, Nintendo, Sega and many others.

VICON MX systems provide unprecedented accuracy, scalability, performance and ease of operation for capturing and directing simultaneous facial, hand and full-body performances of actors, athletes, stunt people, dancers, musicians and props in real time. These systems, along with VICON iQ software, are allowing games studios of all sizes and scopes to meet the needs for new realism in game cinematics and gameplay.

Nick Bolton, Chief Executive of OMG, said: "When it comes to the games industry, Vicon is now the standard. The quality of the VICON MX40 is enabling our customers to add features to their titles that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. And as our customers' demands and expectations grow we are driving our development team to ensure our technology continues to set the pace in motion capture."

John Root, Lead Animator at iD Software said: "In the past, optical motion capture has always been associated with deep pocket mega-studios or productions with huge-sized teams. People to this day still seem to think it takes a swarm of highly skilled technicians scurrying about in white lab coats to yield decent motion capture data. That's just not that case. In fact, motion capture, largely thanks to VICON, has never been easier, cheaper, faster, and of higher quality than it is at this very moment."

Eurocom Entertainment Software, the UK's leading independent game developer, is using the VICON MX40 for a variety of next-gen action/adventure and sports games: "We are using our VICON MX40 system to meet the demands of next-generation consoles," says Tony Wills, Motion Capture Manager, Eurocom. "We are very pleased with the quality of the data and our productivity levels. In our first week of shooting, we captured over 1700 motion capture clips!"

VICON has provided dedicated capture systems and support for games production for over a decade. In that time, the technology has gone from allowing single-person offline capture of 50 or so moves using a small number of cameras and markers, to enabling multiple-person "total performance" capture for thousands of moves with hundreds of markers and cameras in real time. As new console development and the demands for ultra-real motion increase, VICON continues to be dedicated to providing the most market-leading hardware and proven tools.

In January, Game Developer Magazine awarded VICON a 2005 Front Line Award for best hardware. VICON MX40 was chosen for the innovation the system has brought to game developers through its native four-megapixel technology, on board processors and greyscale imaging.

About VICON MX

VICON MX40 cameras are the top of the line in professional motion capture hardware today. With VICON MX40 systems, studios can capture larger-sized volumes and a wider scope of action while gathering unprecedented facial, hand and full-body detail. VICON iQ software streamlines the setup, calibration and general wrangling of motion capture data, making it so easy and fool-proof that a single animator can control the process from beginning to end.

About VICON

VICON Motion Systems is a subsidiary of OMG plc (LSE: OMG) with global headquarters in Oxford, UK, and US headquarters in Lake Forest, CA. OMG subsidiary 2d3 Ltd. produces innovative visual geometry software deriving 3D data from moving images. Since 1984, VICON has been providing professionals with the latest tools to accurately capture the subtleties of three-dimensional human motion for research, medicine, sport, engineering, game development, broadcast and film. For more information about VICON, or to view a comprehensive list of worldwide distributors, visit www.vicon.com or contact +44 (0) 1865-261800 in the UK or (949) 472-9140 in the US.

About OMG

OMG plc (LSE: OMG) is a group of technology companies which make 'image understanding' solutions for the entertainment, defence, life science and engineering industries. Be it for capturing actors (for the movie industry), sportsmen (for video games or improving team performance), children with Cerebral Palsy, rehab patients and animals (for medical, life science and research industries) or virtual reality displays (for engineering and development), the group has a dominant market share and reputation for precision instruments.

The group's global headquarters are based in Oxford UK, where it was founded back in 1984 as Oxford Metrics, and has offices in California and Colorado USA. It has customers in over 35 countries and is listed on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange. The group trades under two core operating subsidiaries - Vicon, the world's biggest motion capture and movement analysis company and 2d3, a manufacturer of specialised visual effects software.

OMG today serves global markets in science, medicine, sport, engineering, gaming, film and broadcast. Clients include major hospitals and research facilities such as Guy's Hospital, Nuffield Orthopedic and Loughborough University, engineering industry leaders including Ford Motor Company, BMW, Airbus, Caterpillar, and Toyota, and in the entertainment sector, Sony, Industrial Light and Magic, The Moving Picture Company (MPC), Sega, Nintendo, UbiSoft, EA, Square Unix and many others.

For more information about OMG, or its subsidiaries, visit www.omg3d.com, www.vicon.com, or www.2d3.com

Press contact:

Kate Mackinder / Sean Fleming

Clarity Public Relations

Tel: 0870 950 9670

Email: press@claritypr.co.uk