Looking for who said what in the sound world? Well there is no better place to find every audio related press release than 3DsoundSurge.!

- Console game audio moves to next level of realism
- Criterion Software™ exclusively to distribute product 

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – MARCH 5, 2001 – Sensaura, the world’s leading 3D audio company, today announced the availability of their new PlayStation 2 middleware product – Sensaura 3D Positional Audio (S-3DPA). Sensaura also announced today that the new S-3DPA PlayStation product will be exclusively distributed by Criterion Software Ltd. The product enables game developers, for the first time, to include a number of realistic 3D audio effects and environments in all of their PlayStation 2 titles.

David Monteith, Managing Director of Sensaura, commented, “Sensaura’s unrivalled expertise and experience in immersive 3D audio will now be available to PlayStation 2 developers. Criterion’s leading market position and channels of distribution will enable S-3DPA to reach games developers worldwide, helping them to develop games with significantly enhanced 3D audio realism.”

The technology, which is already established as the de-facto standard in the PC industry with an estimated user base in excess of 40 million, is the result of over a decade of R&D into the human hearing process and how to reproduce 3D sound from speakers and headphones.

“Sensaura’s market-leading 3D audio technology fully complements Criterion’s middleware strategy. We are looking forward to offering this exciting product to developers, allowing them to focus their efforts on great atmosphere and gameplay”, said David Lau-Kee President of Criterion Software Ltd.

S-3DPA uses an exclusive set of algorithms that have been developed together with special filters known as HRTFs (head related transfer functions). These form Sensaura’s specialised audio libraries, which are the foundation of Sensaura’s technology. Information contained in these libraries acts as a virtual head, simulating the real hearing process, thus making it the most precise 3D positional audio product available.

In addition, S-3DPA middleware features EnvironmentFX™ (3D Reverb), ZoomFX™ and MacroFX™, creating unsurpassed levels of audio realism for PlayStation 2.

“We know what S-3DPA can do on PC games and it’s great to see it advance onto consoles, making our games really come alive”, said John Heap, Rage Games.

Sensaura Contacts

Press Contact                                                                                         General Enquiries

Rebecca Woolley                                                       Neela Dass

PR Executive                                                                    Business Development Manager

rwoolley@sensaura.com                                 ndass@sensaura.com

Tel: + 44 208 848 6766                                                      Tel: +44 208 848 6456

Fax: +44 208 848 6760                                                      Fax: +44 20 8848 6766

About Sensaura

Based in the United Kingdom, Sensaura is at the forefront of audio research both in the PC and the consumer electronics markets.  Presently holding technology licensing agreements with vendors such as Yamaha, ESS Technology, ADI and Crystal Cirrus Logic, Sensaura’s technology licensees control over 80% of the PC audio chip market world-wide.  In addition to Sensaura 3D Positional Audio, the company has developed other technologies, most notably Sensaura Virtual Surround Technology.  The Sensaura portfolio of intellectual property has an increasing number of world-wide patent filings.

Although now an independent organisation which is part of the technology development and licensing company, Scipher, Sensaura retains strong links with Central Research Laboratories, EMI’s former research centre. www.sensaura.com

About Criterion Software

Criterion Software is the undisputed world-leading provider of middleware solutions for the game development industry.  The Criterion development community currently includes more than 250 studios world-wide using its cutting edge middleware solutions including Activision, Creations, DMA Design, Interplay, Konami, Sierra-Online, THQ, Titus Interactive and Ubisoft.

Founded in 1993, Criterion Software is a rapidly expanding organization that today employs over 140 people in its multimedia software technology and game development divisions and is headquartered in Guildford UK, with offices in Tokyo, Austin, Paris and Derby.  Criterion Software is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon Inc.  Further information on Criterion Software can be found at http://www.csl.com.

About Scipher

Scipher is a technology development and licensing company with a large portfolio of patents, which are licensed in technology driven high-growth markets around the world. Currently, around two-thirds of Scipher's revenues are earned outside the UK, with products sold or licensed in over 30 countries.

Scipher's large and expanding portfolio of advanced technology products and know-how mainly derives from its own R&D resources, investment and expertise. This distinctive characteristic of Scipher stems from a tradition of advanced R&D and intellectual property (IP) management that dates back more than 70 years. It includes inventions and developments of historic importance, among them stereo recording, television broadcasting, and the medical CT scanner, which won a Nobel Prize for its inventor.

Scipher creates value in two principal ways: it works in partnership with world-class companies to create patented products for licensing or sale, and it generates income by licensing its client’s patents to others.  Scipher comprises a number of product streams that serve the markets for: 3D Sound, Displays, Broadcast/Internet, Monitoring, Wireless Communications, Sensors, and Secure Identification.  Scipher was listed on the London Stock Exchange on the 9^th February 2000 and is a FTSE 250 company, and a constituent of the techMark 100 index.  Fo

Sensaura, the Sensaura double crescent logo, Sensaura3D, Sensaura MultiDrive, Sensaura MacroFX, Sensaura EnvironmentFX and Sensaura ZoomFX are all trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Sensaura Ltd. or Central Research Laboratories Ltd.   Sensaura Limited is a Scipher Company.   All other brands and names are the property of their respective owners.

PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.