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3D INDUSTRY LEADERS SUPPORT MACROMEDIA SHOCKWAVE PLAYER PLATFORM
Developers benefit from pervasive player with Intel 3D Graphics Technology
 

Macromedia UCON 2001—New York City, NY —Macromedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: MACR) and Intel Corporation today announced that industry leading 3D companies have ensured their solutions are supported by the pervasive 3D platform that was jointly developed by Macromedia and Intel. The wide reach of Macromedia Shockwave Player means that 3D content, for the first time ever, will easily be available to the majority of Web users, who already have the player installed. 3D authoring companies will get a new way to deliver their content to this wide audience through integration with Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio (also announced today, see separate release). Technology vendors can extend Director and Shockwave Player to provide additional 3D functionality, and hardware vendors will benefit by selling more graphics processing units (GPUs) to make the 3D experience even more immersive.

3D vendors that have already pledged their support of this platform are software companies Alias|Wavefront, Discreet—a division of Autodesk, Inc., Havok, MAXON, NewTek, NxView Technologies, Inc., Right Hemisphere, Softimage, and hardware company NVIDIA‚ Corporation. In addition, Macromedia is working with 3D scanning service bureaus, 3D model libraries, digital rights management tools, and video hardware manufacturers. With these companies in the 3D content creation and animation space supporting Shockwave Player as the standard 3D Web playback platform, developers and Web users will benefit from a de-facto standard.

Discreet 3ds max is the leading professional 3D modeling, animation and rendering application for creating visual effects, character animation, and next generation game development. By integrating with Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio, 3ds max users will be able to author in their familiar 3D environment and fully import their creations into Director to prepare that content for Web deployment.

"Discreet created 3ds max with an extensible architecture so it can integrate with software like the new Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio to bring compelling 3D experiences to the Web," said Paul Lypaczewski, general manager of Discreet and executive vice president of Autodesk, Inc. "Macromedia and Intel allow 3D artists, including the more than 160,000 3ds max animators, to fully express themselves on the Web using their favorite authoring solutions."

NxView has developed the software renderer, 3DSpeedDraw, included with the 3D-enhancement to Shockwave Player, which ensures end users can view 3D content without requiring 3D video acceleration.

"Macromedia and Intel have created a 3D environment which enables third parties like NxView to continually add value, whether it's additional functionality to the player or more supported content types at the authoring level," said Myles A. Owens, CEO of NxView. "Shockwave Player already has broad penetration and soon it will be possible to enable traditional multimedia developers to add 3D to their applications and presentations. Web users deserve this unprecedented interactive capability."

NVIDIA Corporation is the global leader in advanced graphics and multimedia processing technology for the consumer, corporate and professional computing markets. Its 2D, 3D, video and multimedia capabilities make NVIDIA one of the premier semiconductor companies in the world for visual computing applications. NVIDIA offers a wide range of products and services, delivering superior performance and crisp visual quality for PC and Macintosh-based applications such as manufacturing, science, e-business, entertainment, and education.

"With incredible 3D graphics features and capabilities, NVIDIA's family of 3D graphics processing units is the ideal platform for Macromedia Director and Shockwave Player users," said Dan Vivoli, senior vice president of marketing for NVIDIA. "The wide reach of Macromedia Shockwave Player means that users can experience the power of 3D content with their current systems today and, if they want to turn up the realism and detail, the same content will scale to meet the power of NVIDIA's GPUs. We are thrilled that Macromedia has chosen NVIDIA as a 3D provider of choice for Macromedia's products."

Havok will include its Xtra with Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio to bring complex physics models to 3D authoring. For example, instead of developers having to program the concept of gravity, friction, or elasticity in Lingo, they can just apply these properties to an object. The object will then behave as if in the real world, bouncing when dropped, or moving when pushed.

"Macromedia Shockwave Player is going to bring 3D content to the masses by uniting developers and users with a common pervasive platform," said Hugh Reynolds, CEO, Havok. "Using our physics engine, the Macromedia and Intel technology makes it easy to add our behaviors into Director to create real world product demonstrations, games and educational content."

ABOUT INTEL
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.

ABOUT MACROMEDIA
Macromedia is passionate about what the Web can be. Its award-winning products empower designers and developers to efficiently create and deliver the most engaging experiences on the Web, and enable innovative Internet business solutions. Headquartered in San Francisco, Macromedia (NASDAQ: MACR) has more than 1,700 employees worldwide and is available on the Internet at www.macromedia.com.

3D INDUSTRY RALLIES AROUND MACROMEDIA AND INTEL 3D WEB SOLUTION

3Dvillage
"3Dvillage is delighted to have the opportunity to work closely with Macromedia to deliver compelling 3D solutions specifically engineered to run using the 3D-enhanced Shockwave Player," said Richard Boyd, CEO. "This partnership will enable us to create even more engaging 3D content that will exceed our customers' expectations in the real estate, travel, e-learning, and wireless application markets."

Alias|Wavefront
"With the 3D-enhanced Macromedia Shockwave Player, the advances in character animation and effects that Maya has enabled in film, video, and games, are now positioned to flood the Web," said Mike Wilson, Director of Maya Interactive. "We are building an industrial strength connection between Maya and Macromedia Director 8.5 which will take full advantage of this tremendous new Web content delivery solution. It will enable artists on both Windows and Macintosh systems to efficiently deliver the top quality interactive Web 3D experiences via the pervasive Shockwave Player platform."

Arius3D
"With the release of Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio, through the combined efforts of Macromedia and Intel, the Web has become a medium that is not just read or viewed, but rather experienced," said Rick Camilleri, CEO. "Combining Arius3D's true to life 3D color content solution with the rich media abilities offered through the 3D-enhanced Shockwave Player allows us to provide an immersive Web experience to more than 200 million Web users."

AtomShockwave
"It's a formidable combination: Intel's powerful 3D software, Macromedia's widely-distributed Shockwave Player, and the speed and simplicity of creating content in Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio," said Mike Edmunds, senior vice president of interactive products. "This pioneering development empowers AtomShockwave to create and deliver the most fulfilling interactive entertainment available to a mass audience."

Caligari Corporation
"The marriage of Intel and Macromedia 3D technologies is a happy one," said Roman Ormandy, President. "The result is a superior platform for 3D Web content which will allow our trueSpace5 users to deliver strong interactive 3D content to the Web with the established delivery capabilities of Macromedia Shockwave Player."

CyberExtruder.com
"CyberExtruder has been developing interactive content and tools for some time now, but we've never before seen a product as easy to use, and as all around powerful as Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio," said Jack Ives, COO. "Known for blazing new trails, Macromedia and Intel have delivered bigger and better than ever, providing the most compelling argument for 3D on the Web we've seen to date, and we've seen them all! We can finally rest assured that 3D on the Web is here to stay."

Face2Face
"We are incredibly excited about Macromedia providing 3D capabilities in Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio and Shockwave Player," said Stephen Clemente, President and CEO. "Their entry into the 3D market is synergistic with face2face's penetration into these same eLearning, CRM, and next generation gaming markets."

famous3D
"With this joint development from Macromedia and Intel, the Internet community has a simple and compelling way to communicate more effectively to an immense user base," said David Skelton, CEO, Blaze International. "This richer, more immersive Web experience will truly humanize the Internet."

Kaon Interactive Inc.
"No company is better positioned to drive widespread adoption of 3D on the Web than Macromedia," said Rich Silton, President and CEO. "We look at a potential installed base of more than 200 million Shockwave Players that can integrate and play our 3D photorealistic content, and believe that 3D as a standard for applications such as distance learning, training, and e-commerce is finally at hand."

Kalisto Entertainment
"Without a doubt, the 3D-enhanced Macromedia Shockwave Player is the technology we have been waiting for," said Jean-Dominique Lauwereins, online technical director. "We are highly satisfied by the development results we have achieved so far, and we've already started to sell high quality 3D-enhanced Shockwave Web games."

MAXON
"Shockwave content is already a standard among Web designers, and Intel's 3D technology allows for unprecedented online possibilities," said Paul Babb, president and CEO. "This jointly developed 3D platform, combined with MAXON's powerful, easy-to-use and affordable 3D solutions, are sure to inspire a whole new generation of 3D online experiences for Web users."

MGI
"The MGI Photovista family of Web tools, which are included with Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio, enable the easy creation of electrifying content, with 360-degree panoramas, photo-based 3D objects, and interactive virtual tours, and are a great complement to Shockwave content," said Anthony DeCristofaro, President and CEO. "The development of this platform by Macromedia and Intel will help drive the creation of more compelling content that will be widely accessible using Shockwave Player."

NewTek
"For years, LightWave 3D has always been the choice for artists and professionals doing film, television and gaming work. Now with Macromedia Director 8.5 and Shockwave Player, LightWave 3D is able to address the huge demand for high quality 3D for the Web," said Brad Peebler, VP of Development, 3D. "The next 3D frontier is the Web and Macromedia has made it possible for Web developers to breathe new life into their work."

Okino Computer Graphics, Inc.
"Okino Computer Graphics is very pleased to have been involved with Intel Architecture Labs and Macromedia to incorporate the new 3D-enhanced Shockwave file format in our PolyTrans Scene/Animation/CAD/NURBS translation product," said Robert Lansdale, President. "Okino is dedicated to providing the highest quality 3D data translation capabilities, support and maintenance in its PolyTrans product and likewise can ensure top quality conversions from all major 3D software packages and file formats into the new Shockwave file format."

Right Hemisphere
"The 3D-enhanced Shockwave Player will bring a whole new energy level to the adoption of 3D," said Michael Lynch, CEO. "Right Hemisphere is very excited by the development efforts of Intel and Macromedia and looks forward to being part of building this new 3D experience online. Never before has there been such a compelling reason for such a wide range of developers to use our 3D texturing and content management tools."

Shells Interactive
"The 3D capabilities of Macromedia Shockwave Player will help deliver bandwidth friendly interactive 3D to e-commerce, online learning, and customer service," said Yuval Michaely, CEO. "E-businesses will profit from the integration of Shells technology into Macromedia Director 8.5 and Shockwave Player by allowing developers to create interactive content faster and more economically then ever, while also securing content against piracy and tracking content usage."

Tabuleiro
"The real power of 3D-enhanced Shockwave content lies within its amazing interactive capabilities," said Mauricio Piacentini, CEO. "The powerful scripting language in Macromedia Director 8.5 allows developers to create dynamic 3D worlds that simply cannot be designed with any competitive technology. Tabuleiro is pleased to work with Macromedia and Intel and has designed ShapeShifter3D, the first cross platform, low-cost integrated modeling tool designed specifically for Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio and the 3D-enhanced Shockwave Player."

Zygote Media Group, Inc.
"We are excited to announce our commitment to support Macromedia Director 8.5 users and the 3D-enhanced Shockwave Player," said Eric Merritt, President. "We offer ready to use stock models in the Shockwave file format as well as provide custom modeling, animation, and authoring services. We are proud to apply our years of 3D modeling experience to the pervasive platform for 3D content that was jointly developed by Macromedia and Intel."