Nvidia Buys Gaming Software, Hardware Maker Ageia

Nvidia plans to use Ageia products in conjunction with CUDA to build programs that offload work from a computer's general-purpose CPU to a separate graphics-processing unit.

By Antone Gonsalves
InformationWeek
February 5, 2008 02:53 PM


Nvidia has agreed to buy Ageia, a maker of software and hardware used to add realism to explosions, gunfire, characters, and other elements in video and PC games. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
Nvidia plans to use Ageia products in conjunction with CUDA, or compute unified device architecture. Developers use the technology to build programs that offload work from a computer's general-purpose CPU to a separate graphics-processing unit. This is important in order for a computer or game console to deliver smooth graphics performance in video games.

CUDA is used in conjunction with Nvidia's GeForce 8800GT GPU, which has 112 processors for handling the heavy computational tasks of graphics-intensive games. Support for Ageia's PhysX software and hardware would be added to CUDA for GPU rendering of PhysX-provided special effects.

"By combining the teams that created the world's most pervasive GPU and physics engine brands, we can now bring GeForce-accelerated PhysX to hundreds of millions of gamers around the world," Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of Nvidia, said in a statement.

Ageia has built a niche for itself in gaming by offering technology that handles those elements of a video game that add realism to the overall experience. The technology, for example, adds dust and flying debris to explosions, more life-like motion and interaction of characters, and dense smoke from objects in motion or on fire.

Ageia's PhysX software is used in 140 titles shipping or in development for PCs, Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii, according to Ageia. There are more than 10,000 registered users of the PhysX software development kit.

Ageia, founded in 2002, is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., as is Nvidia.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/...leID=206104490

I heard about this. I wonder what will happen next?