It’s “Game On” for GNi and Dolby

AUSTIN, USA: GNi, a leading provider of IaaS hosting solutions, announced it is aligning with Dolby Laboratories Inc. to integrate Dolby Axon™ In-Game Communication technology into GNi’s platform for Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).

Dolby Axon technology enables a realistic 3D voice experience that matches the game environment and greatly expands game-play possibilities. GNi’s infrastructure is now Dolby-approved and the two companies worked closely to ensure that gaming and virtual worlds developers can rapidly access and deploy games incorporating the Dolby Axon technology.

“Dolby Axon represents a new benchmark for online voice communications by enabling users to understand their in-game environment through audio. The reliability and scalability of GNi’s IaaS ensures a consistently immersive experience of our enhanced voice technology, which is vital to both the developers of virtual worlds and the people who inhabit them,” said Matt Tullis, Senior Marketing Manager for Games at Dolby Laboratories.

Online gaming and virtual worlds are increasingly sophisticated, and users constantly look to enhance the immersive experience. By mapping users’ voices to the game environment, Dolby Axon adds unprecedented realism and immediacy.

For example, players can now follow the movements of teammates and enemies simply by listening to their voices or footsteps. Objects, such as a wall or a closed door, affect sound volume, and sounds can even appear to becoming from around the corner of a building.

“Voice chat is a critical feature for Jumpgate Evolution,” said Hermann Peterscheck, Lead Producer on NetDevil’s upcoming space combat MMO. “After evaluating other products and considering building it ourselves, we determined Dolby Axon is the best solution in terms of value, ease of integration and audio quality.”

“Online businesses require infrastructure that delivers cost-effective application availability, performance, and scalability,” said Lydia Leong, Research Director at Gartner.

“Next-generation gaming places even greater demands on infrastructure, requiring persistent session continuity, the ability to scale flexibly and dynamically to serve changing audiences, and high reliability, all of which must be delivered within tight cost parameters.”

GNi IaaS satisfies the strictest demands for network connectivity, resiliency, and redundancy, and provides pre-built state-of-the-art hosting environments with the highest level of technical specifications, delivering an unprecedented level of reliability and scalability.

Dolby Axon In-Game Communication enables true-to-life voice communication in 3D surround sound, mapping voices to the game environment and allowing players to alter their voices to match their in-game personas.

“The interoperability, reliability and high performance of Dolby Axon on GNi IaaS enable online gaming and virtual worlds developers to quickly launch on one of the most exciting and advanced technologies available today,” said Arun Gowda, Vice President of Business Development for GNi. “Our partnership with Dolby clearly makes it easier than ever for developers to launch on the Dolby Axon technology while continuing to broaden GNi’s appeal to the gaming industry.”