Solidifies Position of DirectX as an Interactive Multimedia
Standard for PC Industry; Gamers Benefit From Broad
Compatibility, Enhanced Realism and Wider Selection
REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp.
(Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced the release of the DirectX(TM)
set of APIs, version 3.0, Microsoft's new foundation for
interactive multimedia contact. The release underscores
Microsoft's leadership in interactive multimedia technologies,
an exploding new field driven by the popularity of the Internet
and the availability of high-performance hardware in the
personal computer market. While many other initiatives remain
under development and have yet to reach the market, Microsoft(R)
DirectX 3.0 represents a mature technology that continues to
build momentum as a worldwide standard.
The DirectX platform is a set of APIs that allows developers
of interactive content to access specialized hardware features
without having to write hardware-specific code. For these
developers, DirectX offers stability and standardization in a
constantly changing and unpredictable market. For consumers of
games and other interactive content, the result is enhanced
realism and interactivity and a wider selection of titles
compatible with a broad range of computer hardware.
"The release schedule of DirectX is unprecedented, with DirectX
version 3 being completed only four months after the shipment of
DirectX version 2," said Kevin Dallas, DirectX group product
manager at Microsoft. "The release of DirectX version 3, helped
by the pre-holiday season "Meltdown" testing event in August,
will deliver true Plug and Play, solving the traditional setup
and configuration issues previously experienced by consumers."
DirectX 3.0 opens a new dimension in gaming by enabling
multiplayer online games, 3-D positional sound, and support
for new types of input devices and peripherals. DirectX has
already garnered broad industry support, as demonstrated by
over 300 game titles powered by DirectX, scores of DirectX-
compatible hardware add-in cards, and DirectX-enabled consumer
PCs, all available for the holiday season.
Comprehensive Solution for Developers
A key advantage of DirectX is the integration of a full range
of APIs required for compelling Internet- and CD-ROM-based
interactive content. The key facets of multimedia-content
creation are 2-D graphics, 3-D graphics, video, sound, input
devices and connectivity.
DirectX 3.0 includes the following new components:
* The DirectPlay(TM) API provides a protocol-independent
means for multiplayer game play over online services and the
Internet. The DirectPlay Lobby interface allows the creation
of "lobbies," or online meeting places, where users can gather
and assemble groups to play games. DirectPlay provides
transparent connectivity to gamers using different service
providers.
* The DirectInput(TM) API offers pollable and event-based
real-time input for the mouse and keyboard. Pollable
real-time input from joysticks is also supported, as is
event-based real-time input, which supports the next generation
of digital joysticks based on the universal serial bus (USB).
* The DirectSound(TM) API features full-duplex audio drivers
and a kernel mode mixer, making DirectSound less processor-
intensive. The kernel mixer also enables optimal performance
of 3-D positional audio, which allows game developers to
position audio events at any point in the user's perceptual space.
* The DirectDraw(TM) API provides 2-D graphics capabilities
and serves as the rendering base for all other video services.
* The Direct3D(TM) API is a rendering engine for real-time
3-D graphics that integrates both a low-level API for polygon
and vertex rendering, and a high-level API for manipulation of
complex 3-D scenes. Direct3D now includes an MMX-enabled
rasterizer for Intel's next generation of multimedia-enabled CPUs,
as well as a new RAMP color allocation algorithm that improves
the visual quality of RAMP rasterization. Direct3D is available
on the Windows NT(R) platform.
Pricing and Availability
The final version of DirectX 3.0 for the Windows(R) 95
operating system is available now to software developers. The
DirectX Software Development Kit (SDK) will be distributed to
more than 100,000 developers as part of the September release
of the Microsoft Developer Network Development Platform. To
join the Microsoft Developer Network in the United States and
Canada, call 800-759-5474 between 6:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
(Pacific Time), Monday through Friday. Outside North America,
contact the local Microsoft subsidiary, or call 510-275-0763
in the United States to obtain local contact information.
DirectX software and additional information about DirectX
are available for download from the Internet on the Microsoft
Developer Network Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/mediadev/
or http://www.microsoft.com/gamesdev/. Microsoft will license
the necessary run-time components of Direct3D royalty-free on
Microsoft operating system platforms, allowing software
developers to ship them with their applications.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software
for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of
products and services for business and personal use, each
designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable
for people to take advantage of the full power of personal
computing every day.
NOTE: Microsoft, DirectX, DirectPlay, DirectInput, DirectSound,
DirectDraw, Direct3D, Windows NT and Windows are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States
and/or other countries.
/NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional
information on Microsoft, visit the Microsoft Web page at
http://www.microsoft.com/corpinfo/ on Microsoft's corporate
information pages./ /CONTACT: Karla Wachter of MacKenzie-
Kesselring, 801-359-1005, or karlaw@mkinc.com, for Microsoft Corp./
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Thanks,
Doyoung Rhee
(02) 531-4628 , dyrhee@microsoft.com