 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
18 June
2008 Stardock
Launches Impulse With the backing
of industry powerhouse Games
and Software
Developers
and publishers, Stardock has announced the launch
of its next-generation digital distribution
platform, Impulse. Impulse is a
cohesive, integrated virtual platform for consumers
and developers that is designed to simplify buying,
supporting, and developing PC games and
applications for Windows XP and Vista. "Impulse is a
platform first, a store second," said Brad Wardell,
president and CEO of Stardock Corp. "Our primary
objective with Impulse is to address the issues
users have with their Windows experience today.
That includes being able to boot up a new PC,
install Impulse, and then be able to press a button
and have it install all of your software and games
with one click." To this end,
Stardock has been working with major PC game
publishers and software developers to bring as many
titles onto Impulse over the next several months.
For developers and publishers, Impulse supports
localized currencies, custom pricing models for
affiliates, exclusive store items on a per-partner
basis, publisher controlled availability, and more.
For consumers, Impulse is expected to have the
largest selection of digitally-available software
on the market within its first year of operation.
Currently Impulse features more than 100 games and
software applications. Stardock is
currently working with premier game and software
companies including Epic Games, THQ, AVG, iolo, Gas
Powered Games, Hothead Games, Ironclad Games,
Meridian4 and many others. "Impulse is, by
far, the most advanced digital distribution
platform we've seen, and we're extremely excited to
take advantage of the features of Impulse Reactor,"
said Chris Taylor, CEO of Gas Powered Games. "It's
easy to use, has awesome capabilities for
developers, and it doesn't tie consumers to a
single digital distribution platform." Continued
Wardell, "Impulse is designed to help consumers get
the full use of their PC. For example, a user who
has purchased multiple programs over the years is
left hunting for CDs and registration numbers when
setting up a new machine, and their data may be
scattered across multiple USB drives and other
computers. If the user has games, it can be
needlessly complex to find and set up multiplayer
games and keep up to date on drivers." Impulse addresses
these issues; once a user purchases a program, it
is automatically associated with their Impulse
account. Users can update or re-download a given
program when they set up a new machine or as
needed. In addition, Impulse allows users to
associate programs with their Impulse accounts even
if those programs weren't purchased through
Impulse. For example, a user who purchases a game
from their local retailer or a different digital
distribution service would be able to associate
their purchase with Impulse if the program's
publisher takes advantage of the free option.
Additionally, Impulse supports refunds for users
who have technical issues with a game or
application. "Digital
distribution empowers independent developers like
Hothead and is exactly what the game industry needs
today," said Vlad Ceraldi, president of Hothead
Games. "Impulse will offer more choices to gamers
and developers alike - we are truly excited about
the games we will bring to Impulse, starting with
our first game series, On the Rain-Slick Precipice
of Darkness." Impulse will also
provide a virtual platform called Impulse Reactor,
a set of server-side features for developers that
will work even if the user doesn't have the Impulse
client installed. Impulse Reactor will include
support for virtual drives for saved game data,
multiplayer matchmaking, game rankings, NAT
negotiation for multiplayer games, friends lists,
and support forums. Also unique to
Impulse is its distribution model. Companies and
individuals will be able to distribute their own
branded version of Impulse starting in mid-August,
and every time a user creates an account with an
affiliated distributor, that distributor will
receive a percentage of the gross revenue of any
future purchases. Amongst the first
distributors of Impulse will be AMD, which will be
distributing Impulse as part of their Ruby ROM
content disk that accompanies their graphics cards
as well as from the AMD Game! website. Darren McPhee,
senior marketing manager for gaming at AMD said,
"We are excited about the potential of Impulse to
help enhance the user experience of our customers.
With the continuing advances in PC technology, we
see Impulse as a terrific way to help bring these
advances to our user base." Impulse can be
used by developers, publishers, and even retailers.
"Digital distribution shouldn't be seen as a threat
to our retail partners, rather as an opportunity."
said Wardell. |
|
|
|
Contact Us - Casinos - Privacy Policy Copyright © 2009 CasinoBeacon.co.uk |