Emergent Announces the Emergent Platform to Dramatically Speed Up Online Game Development and Deployment at a Fraction of Today's Costs

First Comprehensive Solution Using Software-as-a-Service Model Will Change Game Development Economics


CALABASAS, CA--(Marketwire - September 6, 2007) - Emergent Game Technologies today announced the Emergent Platform, the interactive entertainment industry's first comprehensive development and deployment platform designed to reduce "stand-up" costs and shorten time to market for online PC and multi-platform games.

The Emergent Platform will provide studios of all sizes a robust suite of best-in-class hardware and software technologies that will be pre-integrated in a single full-spectrum development and deployment environment.

With Emergent's "pay-as-you-go" Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, virtually any studio anywhere can have access to the world-class tools and all the accompanying game services required to successfully launch and manage an online game.

"With the Emergent Platform, we are leveling the playing field by offering to studios of any size the best infrastructure technologies available at an affordable cost so they can 'stand-up' and launch creative, compelling online PC and multi-platform games quickly," said Geoffrey Selzer, CEO of Emergent.

The genesis for the Emergent Platform is the company's focus on helping the game industry minimize the enormous risks it now faces with the dramatically mounting complexity of online games and the escalating costs associated with developing and getting good games to market. The company will continually evolve the Emergent Platform with additional services and technologies that will be the catalyst for compelling new games and forms of online entertainment for the worldwide market.

"With the Emergent Platform we believe we are at the beginning of an industry renaissance where the technology and financial terms will finally support, instead of hinder, huge leaps in innovation and creativity," said Selzer. "As developers and publishers are able to work with best-in-class technologies with virtually no upfront costs, we will see a whole new spectrum of games come to market, which will propel innovation and growth of the industry overall."

At the foundation of the Emergent Platform is HP Flexible Computing Services, a utility offering that provides companies with access to advanced infrastructure technology on an 'as needed' basis. It includes the industry-leading HP BladeSystem c-Class server blades and HP StorageWorks solutions (see press release, "Emergent Teams with HP to Help Developers Get Online Games to Market Faster and at Lower Cost," September 6, 2007).

Emergent has also integrated several of its own Elements solutions with a broad range of technologies from 3Tera and Aria Systems to provide an end-to-end solution for developing and launching online games.

The beta version of the online deployment services of the Emergent Platform will be widely available in September 2007 as the first major step in Emergent's multi-lateral strategic initiative.

The initial beta offering in the Emergent Platform will include the following products and services:

--  Emergent's Metrics Element for Online Games
--  The Emergent Dashboard for analytics and reporting
--  HP Flexible Computing Services, a utility offering that provides
    scalable technology infrastructure on a "pay-as-you-go" basis, housed in
    state-of-the-art HP datacenters
--  Industry-leading HP technologies, including HP BladeSystem c-Class
    server blades and HP StorageWorks solutions
--  AppLogic Grid computing layer from 3Tera
--  E-commerce and consumer billing package from Aria Systems
    
Emergent will be rapidly adding more services and increase the capabilities of this initial offering to best serve the industry as more and more games migrate online.


"Lots of companies talk about their service to the games industry, but very few technology companies are truly committed to providing the tools, technologies and services to the special breed of engineers who develop games," said Selzer. "We chose only to work with HP, Aria and 3Tera at this time -- companies known for their rock-solid reliability and a cultural commitment to customer service. Together we can offer what no one else can."

"The online gaming market is burgeoning, and young companies need access to advanced technologies that can scale up as the business grows," said Matthew Lane, director, Communications, Media and Entertainment, HP. "This is the capability that Emergent and HP are providing through the integration of Emergent Platform and HP Flexible Computing Services."

First Software-as-a-Service Business Model in Game Industry

The initial offering of the Emergent Platform is the online game deployment service, the first "pay-as-you-go" infrastructure. This is the key to making the Emergent Platform so widely available and affordable.

"Up until now, developers and publishers have had to sink huge sums of money into their infrastructure technologies before the game could earn a single dollar," explained Selzer. "With our Software-as-a-Service business model, now they can tie their financial investments to the 'stand-up,' deployment and growth of a game, and manage their cash flow over the actual cycle of a game."

Designed for Deploying All Types of Online Games with Minimum Investment

The Emergent Platform is capable of hosting any online game including but not limited to MMOs, advanced casual and peer-to-peer. As a sole-source provider tailored for the games industry, the Emergent Platform will provide and manage all of the hardware, hosting and bandwidth underlying the game, giving developers and publishers an advantage in bringing their unique offerings to market. Future functionality includes automated provisioning, pipeline automation, server management for MMOs, among other innovative solutions for the demanding requirements of the online game category.

About Emergent

Emergent Game Technologies provides flexible technologies and services that give developers an unmatched range of integrated capabilities for building, testing and managing games. These proven, stand-alone solutions, known as Emergent Elements, include the award-winning Gamebryo 3D graphics engine, which has been used to create hit titles for the PLAYSTATION®3, Xbox 360™, and PC. Emergent Elements give developers the flexibility they need to fuel creativity while reducing risk.

Emergent is headquartered in Calabasas, Calif.; and has offices in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; Wroclaw, Poland; and London. To learn more, visit www.emergent.net.

Contact Information: Contact: Susan Kramer Double Forte for Emergent Game Technologies (415) 848-8113 skramer@double-forte.com