Saitek Announces Development Collaboration With AMD

Saitek | Monday 14 March 2005/... Saitek, a leading brand in the game controller market, today formally announced an alliance with AMD (NYSE: AMD) for the development of Saitek PC game controllers to be compatible with the AMD Athlon^TM 64 processor family of products and all games developed for the 64-bit Windows^® environment.

Saitek has created new compatible drivers for its 2005 PC Games Controller range to support this exciting new AMD64 technology. The collaboration involves driver testing by AMD to enable Saitek to reach the ultimate goal of having a fully compliant gaming range ready for the launch of Microsoft XP 64 operating system later this year.

AMD Athlon 64 processors can process data in packets twice as large as those of a 32-bit CPU, enabling the processor to execute code much faster and in more depth for graphics, gaming, video creation and editing. The 64-bit processor can also access far more system RAM than a 32-bit processor: For every additional bit, the processor addresses twice as much RAM, so where a 32-bit processor can address a total of 4GB of RAM, a 64-bit CPU can address up to 18 exabytes (EB) of memory.

What does this mean for gamers? Games developed for AMD64 offer hugely expanded AI, coupled with quick access to huge amounts of memory, making almost anything possible. Games will have much more realistic-looking, cinematic 3D graphics with objects that respond instantly and intuitively to the player's every move, making them play like interactive movies.

"We consider the progression from 32- to 64-bit processing potentially as revolutionary as the move from DOS-based operating systems to Windows. For gamers, 64-bit processing will offer a much more immersive gaming experience and this hugely increased level of detail and choice in games will make how the player interacts with them even more important," said Adrian Bedggood, Saitek's Marketing Director. "We're delighted to be working with AMD on expanding the compatibility of our game controllers drivers and programming software to include 64-bit processing and are 100 per cent committed to making our controllers the best way to interact with and control these new gaming environments."

"AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Athlon 64 FX processors are fast becoming the platform of choice for the extreme gamer, and we believe in offering the most power possible for an incredibly immersive gaming experience," said Daryl Sartain, director, desktop marketing, Computation Products Group, AMD. "It is good to see Saitek working cooperatively with us to make sure gamers have controllers that match the level of game play possible on the AMD64 platform."

About Saitek:

Saitek entered the Electronic Chess and Intelligent Games Market in 1979 and rapidly became the market leader - a position the company retains today.

In the early 1990s, Saitek diversified into PC Peripherals, developing and manufacturing high-end products with the emphasis on quality, design and innovation. Saitek launched its first PC Game Controller in 1994 and by 2004 had taken the number two worldwide position, dominating the flight simulation sector. The range was broadened to include products such as the award-winning Cyborg joystick, X52 Flight Control System and a range of award-winning PC gamepads.

A further expansion led Saitek into developing a Mobile Solutions range, designed to improve and enhance computing in the home, office and on the move. These products focus on Input, Connectivity and Multimedia.