U.S. Gets First Look at Photo Viewing, Enhancement and Fun Creativity Tools
That Take Sega Dreamcast Capabilities Beyond Gaming
TOKYO, and SEATTLE, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Sega Enterprises and
PictureIQ(TM) Corporation today announced that the two companies will showcase
digital imaging capabilities for the Internet-ready Sega Dreamcast(TM)
videogame console within the Sega booth #2216 at E3 Expo 2000, May 11-13 in
Los Angeles. This will be the first opportunity for U.S. consumers to see the
Dreamcast digital camera solution in action.
Together, Sega and PictureIQ will demonstrate breakthrough digital photo
experiences for the Sega Dreamcast environment, making it the first game
console to offer digital photo experiences beyond simple viewing. Announced in
Japan in February, the new Dreamcast digital camera will ship with a digital
photo application, Dream PhotoFun, written by PictureIQ, that brings a
completely integrated suite of photo enhancement and creativity tools to the
high-powered game console.
After taking pictures with the Dreamcast digital camera, consumers simply
plug it into one of the game controller ports on the Dreamcast game console.
Dream PhotoFun then enables users to view, enhance, and be creative with their
still pictures directly on the TV using only the standard Dreamcast game
controller. Some of the PictureIQ-powered features to be demonstrated at E3
include one-button enhancement of photos, the ability to add clip art and
text, and the power to easily create electronic photo greeting cards.
Additionally, because every Dreamcast comes with a built-in modem, these photo
creations can be shared with family and friends using the Internet.
"Our relationship with PictureIQ demonstrates Sega's commitment to provide
innovative capabilities that push the limits of what people expect from a game
console," said Hideki Sato, Corporate Senior Vice President at Sega
Enterprises, Ltd. "PictureIQ's technology, and the easy-to-use, powerful
digital photo capabilities it delivers, will help to broaden Dreamcast's
appeal as consumers realize the tremendous possibilities with the
Internet-ready Sega Dreamcast system."
"Game consoles have become a familiar part of households worldwide, and
e-mailing and sharing digital pictures is exploding, especially within the
younger generation," said Bill McCoy, President and CEO of PictureIQ
Corporation. "Thus, bringing digital photography capabilities to Dreamcast was
a natural next step. This demonstration of the Dreamcast digital camera
solution highlights the power that PictureIQ technology delivers to consumer
devices. Now, millions of Dreamcast users can take, view, enhance, and share
digital pictures without having to use a PC and cumbersome, PC-based
software."
PictureIQ's patent-pending technology delivers the only solution
specifically designed to bring advanced, easy-to-use digital picture editing
and creativity capabilities to consumer devices. Its standards
based-architecture gives it the ability to be easily integrated across
numerous operating systems and hardware platforms and into a variety of other
consumer devices including TV set-top boxes, digital photo frames, photo
printers, PDAs and even cellular phones.
Sega expects that the Dreamcast digital camera, bundled with the new Dream
PhotoFun software as well as with video mail and video chat capabilities, will
be available in Japan in the second quarter of this year.
About Sega Enterprises
Sega Enterprises, Ltd. is a nearly $2.5 billion company recognized as the
industry leader in interactive digital entertainment media, offering
interactive entertainment experiences both inside and outside the home.
About PictureIQ Corporation
PictureIQ Corporation (http://www.pictureiq.com) develops and licenses the
leading picture editing and creativity software solution for the Internet and
consumer electronics devices. Its PictureIQ digital imaging technology is
rapidly becoming the industry standard for Web sites or consumer electronics
manufacturers looking to easily integrate advanced digital photo capabilities
directly into their products and services. PictureIQ-powered sites and devices
enable people to quickly and easily enhance and be creative with their digital
pictures. PictureIQ Corporation is the only third-party company with a license
to the core imaging and video technologies from Adobe Systems, Inc., creator
of industry-leading products including Adobe Photoshop(R) and Adobe
Premiere(R). Founded in September of 1998, investors in PictureIQ Corporation
include Adobe Ventures, Digital Partners, H&Q Venture Associates, Hikari
Tsushin, InfoSpace and Intel.
NOTE: All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Ann Marie Ricard of DDB for PictureIQ Corporation,
206-287-7136, or annmarie.ricard@sea.ddb.com; or Miyako Shimizu of Sega
Enterprises, Ltd., ShimizuM@soj.sega.co.jp.
SOURCE PictureIQ Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.pictureiq.com
CONTACT:
Ann Marie Ricard of DDB for PictureIQ
Corporation, 206-287-7136, or annmarie.ricard@sea.ddb.com; or
Miyako Shimizu of Sega Enterprises, Ltd., ShimizuM@soj.sega.co.jp
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