It’s “Game On” for GNi and Dolby

GNi (http://gni.com), a leading provider of IaaS hosting solutions, today announced they are aligning with Dolby Laboratories, Inc. to integrate Dolby Axon® In-Game Communication technology into GNi’s platform for Infrastructure-as-a-Service. Dolby Axon technology enables a realistic 3D voice experience that matches the game environment and greatly expands game-play possibilities. GNi’s infrastructure is now Dolby-approved and the two companies worked closely to ensure that gaming and virtual worlds developers can rapidly access and deploy games incorporating the Dolby Axon technology.

“Dolby Axon represents a new benchmark for online voice communications by enabling users to understand their in-game environment through audio. The reliability and scalability of GNi’s IaaS ensures a consistently immersive experience of our enhanced voice technology, which is vital to both the developers of virtual worlds and the people who inhabit them,” said Matt Tullis, Senior Marketing Manager for Games at Dolby Laboratories.

Online gaming and virtual worlds are increasingly sophisticated, and users constantly look to enhance the immersive experience. By mapping users’ voices to the game environment, Dolby Axon adds unprecedented realism and immediacy. For example, players can now follow the movements of teammates and enemies simply by listening to their voices or footsteps. Objects, such as a wall or a closed door, affect sound volume, and sounds can even appear to becoming from around the corner of a building.

“Voice chat is a critical feature for Jumpgate Evolution,” said Hermann Peterscheck, Lead Producer on NetDevil’s upcoming space combat MMO. “After evaluating other products and considering building it ourselves, we determined Dolby Axon is the best solution in terms of value, ease of integration and audio quality.”

“Online businesses require infrastructure that delivers cost-effective application availability, performance, and scalability,” said Lydia Leong, Research Director at Gartner. “Next-generation gaming places even greater demands on infrastructure, requiring persistent session continuity, the ability to scale flexibly and dynamically to serve changing audiences, and high reliability, all of which must be delivered within tight cost parameters.”

GNi IaaS satisfies the strictest demands for network connectivity, resiliency, and redundancy, and provides pre-built state-of-the-art hosting environments with the highest level of technical specifications, delivering an unprecedented level of reliability and scalability. Dolby Axon In-Game Communication enables true-to-life voice communication in 3D surround sound, mapping voices to the game environment and allowing players to alter their voices to match their in-game personas.

“The interoperability, reliability and high performance of Dolby Axon on GNi IaaS enable online gaming and virtual worlds developers to quickly launch on one of the most exciting and advanced technologies available today,” said Arun Gowda, Vice President of Business Development for GNi. “Our partnership with Dolby clearly makes it easier than ever for developers to launch on the Dolby Axon technology while continuing to broaden GNi’s appeal to the gaming industry.”

About GNi

GNi is the leading dedicated hosting provider for more than 200 companies in online games, Software-as-a-Service, Web 2.0, and Online Digital Media. GNi’s infrastructure supports more than 12.8 million registered users, 425,000 concurrent connected users at peak capacity, and more than 27 online game titles. GNi delivers rapid scalability with uncompromised performance. GNi solutions thrive in the most demanding online environments and offer a variety of smart systems including rapid on-boarding and deployment. GNi is headquartered in San Jose, California, with infrastructure facilities and support offices located across the globe. For more information please visit gni.com (http://bit.ly/1tvhJ).

About Jumpgate Evolution

Developed by the highly experienced game developer NetDevil, Jumpgate Evolution is an exhilarating space combat MMO set in a vast, expanding universe. Players join one of three nations and participate in a massive interstellar war. Jumpgate is a fully featured MMO where players can trade valuable commodities, take part in awesome intergalactic battles, and meet and play with friends. The game offers gamers a chance to live out their dream of being an elite space hero. Jumpgate Evolution is distributed and published in North America and Europe by Codemasters. Operated in Europe by Codemasters. Operated in North America by NetDevil.  For more information on Jumpgate, visit www.jumpgateevolution.com.

Press Contacts

Melanie Marks
GNi
(408) 343-8045
mmarks [at] gni [dot] com

Andrew Evangelista
Eastwick Communications
(650) 480-4056
Andrew [at] Eastwick [dot] com

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