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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 4.3 - JUNE 1999
Internet & Interactive
Nintendo Does Disney. Disney Interactive and Nintendo of America have
signed a worldwide agreement for a wide assortment of Disney games for the
N64 and Game Boy Color. The agreement includes a Mickey Mouse 3D adventure
game and a Mickey 3D racing game for the N64 developed by RARE (Donkey
Kong Country, Goldeneye 007). The first games scheduled are Beauty
& The Beast, Alice In Wonderland, and a Mickey racing game, all for
the Game Boy Color, which will arrive in stores in time for the holiday season.
AIAS Announces Interactive Achievement Awards. The Academy of Interactive
Arts and Sciences (AIAS), created to advance and recognize outstanding achievement
in the interactive arts, announced the recipients of its second annual Interactive
Achievement Awards. The awards were presented at an event held May 13 at the
Variety Arts Theater during the Electronic Entertainment Exposition in Los
Angeles. Zelda: Ocarina Of Time (Nintendo of America/Nintendo Co. Ltd.)
won six awards including Interactive Title of the Year, Adventure Game of
the Year, Role Playing Game of the Year, Console Game of Year and for Outstanding
Achievement in Interactive Design, and Outstanding Achievement in Software
Engineering. Half-Life (Sierra Studios/Valve) captured awards for Action
Game of the Year and Computer Game of the Year, and Banjo-Kazooie (Nintendo
of America/Rare) was honored as Action Game of the Year and Outstanding Achievement
in Art/Graphics.
Among the other winners are: Disney/Pixar's A Bug's Life Action Game,
Disney Interactive/Traveller's Tale, Children's Entertainment Title of the
Year; National Geographic Maps, Broderbund/National Geographic Interactive,
Family Title of the Year; Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, Electronic Arts/Firaxis
Games, Strategy Game of the Year; Starsiege Tribes, Sierra Online/Dynamix,
Inc., Online Action/Strategy Game of the Year; Gamespot, GameSpot Inc.,
Entertainment Site of the Year; CNN.com/Coldwar, CNN Interactive, News/Information
Site of the Year.
IBM And Nintendo Team Up For New Video Game Console. IBM and Nintendo
have announced a multi-year $1 billion technology agreement to support Nintendo's
next home video game console, code-named "Dolphin." As part of the
agreement, IBM will design and manufacture a unique 400 MHz central processor
featuring IBM's industry-leading 0.18 micron copper technology. The chip,
dubbed the "Gekko" processor, is an extension of the IBM PowerPC(TM)
architecture. It's designed to be more powerful than those found in any current
or planned home video game entertainment system, providing players with dramatically
better graphics and more realistic action. The processor is in the advanced
stages of development, supporting Nintendo's plans for a worldwide launch
for the 2000 holiday season. While the relationship initially involves the
development and production of the copper-based processor, the companies will
explore the potential use of IBM technology in other Nintendo products as
well. The current arrangement calls for IBM to design, manufacture and ship
copper processors to Nintendo, with the potential value of the deal exceeding
$1 billion. The IBM copper processor will be paired with a revolutionary graphics
chip designed by ArtX Inc., one of the world's leading 3-D graphics technologists
located in Palo Alto, Calif. The ArtX team, led by chairman, Dr. Wei Yen,
includes a number of well-known 3-D graphics designers.
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.