Amsterdam, The Netherlands\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 Video games publisher Gamious has announced today a partnership with Philips uWand, the intuitive camera-based direct pointing remote control technology, to bring\u00a0same-screen multiplayer gaming to Smart TV for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are delighted to be working with Philips uWand to introduce a social element to gaming on Smart TV,\u201d said Pim Bouman, CEO at Gamious. \u201cAs one of the leading innovators in this space, Philips uWand\u2019s direct pointing technology makes same-screen multiplayer incredibly easy and will help us bring our latest game, Dark Day LA, to a new audience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bouman added: \u201cThanks to our partnership with Philips uWand we can now enter the Smart TV market, something that simply wasn\u2019t possible with the controllers that are now provided with Smart TVs. Other pointing control technologies we have experimented with do not deliver the right experience for gaming. Now, on Smart TV, we can give players the same immersive experience that they\u2019ve come to expect from console based gaming and new mobile platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Philips has enhanced its direct pointing technology to enable up to four uWand equipped remotes to be used simultaneously and to individually control distinct on-screen elements. To demonstrate this, Gamious\u2019 latest title, Dark Day LA, will be multi-playable at the uWand booth at IBC 2013. In the game, one player assumes the role of a vampire trying to mingle with the crowds, while the other is a police sniper tasked with tracking the vampire down.<\/p>\n
\u201cTV is a social experience and gaming is a social experience, but until now a multiplayer gaming experience has required a games console. Our technology and partnership with Gamious shows how that gap can be bridged and new audiences addressed,\u201d said Navin Natoewal, General Manager at Philips uWand. \u201cThe current generation of TV remote controls are letting consumers down. They are barely capable of navigating increasing complex Smart TV EPGs, let alone sophisticated multiplayer gaming. We have changed that.\u201d<\/p>\n
uWand technology uses an infrared camera embedded within the body of a remote control. The camera monitors the remote\u2019s position relative to a small \u2018beacon\u2019 on the TV. This direct pointing technology makes uWand ideal for multiplayer gaming, as the cursor appears exactly where the user is pointing, and now up to four remote controls can be monitored at once.<\/p>\n
For more information about uWand technology, or same-screen multiplayer Smart TV gaming, visit Philips uWand at IBC 2013, Amsterdam, 13th \u2013 17th September (hall 14 stand 103).<\/p>\n
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Amsterdam, The Netherlands\u00a0\u2013 Video games publisher Gamious has announced today a partnership with Philips uWand, the intuitive camera-based direct pointing remote control technology, to bring\u00a0same-screen multiplayer gaming to Smart TV for the first time. \u201cWe are delighted to be working with Philips uWand to introduce a social element to gaming on Smart TV,\u201d said Pim<\/p>\n