AGEIA Technologies, Inc., the pioneer in hardware-accelerated physics for games, today announced that the latest version of AGEIA PhysX SDK version 2.4 will become available to registered PLAYSTATION 3 game content developers on March 31, 2006.
The AGEIA PhysX SDK is highly recognized for its extensive physics functionality and multithreading capabilities, which are uniquely suited for the multicore architecture of the Cell processor adopted on PLAYSTATION 3. The latest AGEIA PhysX SDK version 2.4 is optimized for the Cell processor, adding mind-blowing physics action to the high-definition graphics of PLAYSTATION 3 titles.
In the 2.4 release, several components of the AGEIA PhysX pipeline have been offloaded from the PPU of the PLAYSTATION 3 to the SPUs; developers can fully control the component deployment. This has resulted in a 50% reduction in maximum PPU load, leaving more room for game code and smooth frame rates.
"Real-time physical simulation is the new frontier in computer entertainment, and the PLAYSTATION 3 will lead the way with the help of AGEIA PhysX technology," said Dominic Mallinson, Vice President of US R&D for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Our collaboration with AGEIA will provide PLAYSTATION 3 developers with another powerful tool enabling the creation of amazingly rich and realistic interactive entertainment."
"The debut of the PLAYSTATION 3 is one of the most anticipated launches in the history of games, and we're extremely pleased that AGEIA PhysX technology will be a part of it," said Manju Hegde, founder and CEO of AGEIA. "With AGEIA PhysX technology available for PLAYSTATION 3, PLAYSTATION 3 content creators will have the tools they need to create a new era in action-packed, physics-enabled games."
