Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) and Electronic Arts have joined the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). Having these two leaders in multi-platform interactive entertainment strengthens support for the Blu-ray Disc high-definition optical-disc format among the world's leading gaming, consumer electronics, PC and entertainment companies.
"The technical requirements for game development today demands more advanced optical-disc technologies," said Michael Heilemann, cto, VU Games. "Blu-ray Disc offers the capacity, performance and high-speed Internet connectivity to take us into the future of gaming."
"VU Games' decision to join the Blu-ray Disc Assoc. is another example of the widespread support for Blu-ray Disc by content developers and owners who recognize it's the only optical-disc format that provides the capacity and functionality they need to meet the future needs of their businesses," said Maureen Weber, chief BDA spokesperson and gm of HP's Optical Storage Solutions Business. "We've gotten a lot of support from companies like Vivendi who require the superior capacity and interactivity that Blu-ray Disc delivers."
"The delivery of high-definition games is becoming increasingly important to us," said Scott Cronce, Electronic Arts Worldwide Studio cto. "Blu-ray Disc has the capacity, functionality and interactivity we need for the kinds of projects we have in mind. The copy protection and Blu-ray Disc's strong commitment to this issue is a real plus as well."
"Electronic Arts is the latest in a growing list of companies that have told us Blu-ray Disc's capacity and functionality are important to their future business growth," said Weber. "These companies tell us they simply can't deliver the kinds of products they want to offer consumers with any other format. The revenue-generating potential for content owners and the totally new entertainment experience for consumers offered by Blu-ray Disc simply can't be matched by anyone else."
Sony has announced that its next generation gaming platform will be built on Blu-ray.
Blu-ray Disc is a next-generation optical disc format being developed for high-definition video and high-capacity software applications. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc holds up to 25 gigabytes of data and a double-layer Blu-ray Disc holds up to 50 gigabytes of data.
The Blu-ray Disc Assoc. (BDA) is responsible for establishing format standards and promoting and further developing business opportunities for Blu-ray Disc. The BDA has nearly 100 members. Its board of directors consists of Dell Inc., Hewlett Packard Co., Hitachi, Ltd., LG Electronics Inc., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Panasonic (Matsushita Electric), Pioneer Corp., Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sharp Corp., Sony Corp., TDK Corp., Thomson, Twentieth Century Fox and Walt Disney Pictures and Television.
To contact the BDA, call Sue Ellen Schaming at (415) 856-5129 or e-mailsschaming@blancandotus.com.
