GDC: Ageia Launches PhysX Processor

Ageia Technologies, Inc., a developer of hardware-accelerated physics for games, announced the availability of its PhysX processor, the first physics processing unit designed to power pervasive real-time physics in PC gaming, immediately available from Alienware, Dell, and Falcon Northwest. Ageia PhysX Accelerator add-in boards from board manufacturers ASUS and BFG will be available in wide distribution in May of this year. The Ageia PhysX processor has been specifically designed to accelerate dynamic physical motion and interaction in games. More than one hundred games designed for and supporting the AGEIA PhysX processor are in development from over 60 software developers and publishers. Game developer and publishing partners include UbiSoft, Cryptic Studios, NCSoft, Epic Games and Sega, among many others. Examples of PhysX-driven features that will improve the gamer experience include explosions with dust, debris and shrapnel that cause collateral damage; characters with joints, convexes and other complex geometry that enable realistic motion; new weapons with unpredictable effects; foliage that bends and sways when brushed against by the player or other characters or objects; cloth that drapes, flows, tears and billows depending on where it is placed and the environment, and more.