|
New Realism in Virtual Pets Paves the Way for High-Tech Companions of the Future
Clear Crown Studios today unveiled the most realistic computerized pets to date, marking a key milestone on the road to personal robots like NS-5 of I, Robot.
Burlingame, CA August 5, 2004 -- Clear Crown Studios today unveiled the most realistic computerized pets to date, marking a key milestone on the road to personal robots like NS-5 of I, Robot.
Audiences have been wowed by the realism of NS-5, the lead robot character in 20th Century Foxs new film, I, Robot. Thanks to modern special effects, todays audiences are getting a glimpse into the future of machines built specifically to relate to humans on a human level.
Robots like NS-5 may not become a reality any time soon, but the march of steady progress toward NS-5 can be clearly seen in a number of todays products, like Sonys AIBO, an entertainment robot designed to look and act like a friendly puppy.
Although AIBOs price tag may indicate that AIBO is still ahead of its time, many inexpensive software-based and Internet-based virtual pets have been widely popular for years. The latest version of Bandais popular Tamagotchi pets are on track to exceed one million units sold by the end of August, just five months after their initial release. Neopets, Inc., provider of Internet-based virtual pets called neopets, boasts over 22 million members who visit their on-line pets at an astounding rate of 3 billion page views per month. Ubi Softs Petz product line has sold millions of units of Catz, Dogz, and Oddballz software pets since its original launch in 1995.
Todays announcement from Clear Crown Studios marks a new milestone in the advancement toward truly life-like high-tech companions for humans. Today, Clear Crown Studios has launched a new virtual pet product called Sprite Life, which promises to be the most realistic virtual pet experience to date. Sprite Life pets include 3-dimensional dogs, cats, and a fantasy species called a spriteling, whose features were inspired by cats, dogs, rabbits, and monkeys. Sprite Life pets live in a large, realistic 3-dimensional world of snow-capped mountains, rolling hills, green meadows, and crystal-clear lakes, all of which are open for exploration by both the pets and their owners. But bringing virtual pets into the third dimension is not the only milestone Clear Crown Studios has reached.
Each Sprite Life pet has its own genetic code and a family tree, adding a new life-like realism to virtual pets. Pets are born on a specific date and inherit traits from their mothers and fathers. Different pets have a variety of different fur colors, and even those with the same coloration have a different shine to their fur. Some pets are short and squat, while others are tall and thin. Some are larger, others smaller. Pets are unique in personality as well as physical appearance. Some pets are more active, others more docile. Some are more independent, while others are more affectionate.
The experience of owning a Sprite Life pet closely resembles that of owning a real-world pet like a cat or dog. The pet owner gets to select pets from the currently available litters. Once the owner adopts the pet, it is no longer available for adoption by anyone else. The pets physical and emotional welfare becomes the responsibility of the pet owner, who must provide food and love for the pets to be happy. At some point, the owner may even wish to donate a sample of the pets DNA for breeding purposes, so that future pet owners may enjoy traits inherited from a favorite pet.
Clear Crown Studios is betting that realism will be the key to making virtual pets even more popular than real-life pets. Its inevitable that virtual pets will outnumber real-life pets someday, according to Chas. Cooper, founder of Clear Crown Studios. Just look at the trends in play: People need pets now more than ever, as people continue to live increasingly independent lives. The flip side of independent living is loneliness and a need for companionship. At the same time, our busy lives make it hard to find the time to properly care for a dog, cat, bird, or other real-life pet. As computers and technology improve, virtual pets will just keep getting more and more realistic, and help bring happiness to those who might otherwise never know the pleasure of caring for a pet.
Virtual pets will not replace real-life pets, insists Mr. Cooper, who is avidly dedicated to his real-life dog and parrot. There will always be real-life pets. No matter how realistic we make our Sprite Life pets, its not going to replace the unique experience of knowing a real-life pet. At the same time, I foresee many pet owners loving their Sprite Life pets almost as much as they do their real-world pets.
Early owners of Sprite Life pets echo Mr. Coopers sentiments. I like how realistic Sprite Life is, comments Rachel Rudy, one of the earliest Sprite Life pet owners. It is wonderful that each pet is unique and has its very own personality. I think the graphics are amazing and the scenery is beautiful. The views from high hills are breath-taking and it makes you feel like you want to take a picture of it with your real camera. The pets act very realistic, too. The pets give you a chance to own a pet if you can't own your own [real-life pet.
"I loved how interactive Sprite Life is, says Annalysia Grant, another early adopter of Sprite Life pets. It allows you to get really up-close to the pets and I found myself getting attached to them after only a short time. They are very lovable and cute. The scenery was gorgeous and I liked how I could follow the pets around including swimming after them. I also find it nice that the pets have status bars enabling their owner to know what they need and what they are thinking. I was really impressed by the personality each pet displayed as well."
"My son loves Sprite Life, reports April Fulmer, mother of three. He is my hardest to please or rather hardest to find a game that keeps him involved. He will go buy a game, play a week or a month, then not want it anymore. So to have him asking to play again is a step not many established and popular games have managed. He is sitting here [by the computer now and every few minutes I hear, Are you done yet?"
Company: Clear Crown Studios
|
| Related press releases |
New Realism in Virtual Pets Paves the Way for High-Tech Companions of the Future [2004-08-05 00:00:00]
Clear Crown Studios today unveiled the most realistic computerized pets to date, marking a key milestone on the road to personal robots like NS-5 of I, Robot.
Burlingame, CA August 5, 2004 -- Clea...
|
|
Produce a Film for the Loved Pets with AV Movie Morpher Gold [2007-04-17 02:30:04]
(April 17, 2007)- Audio4fun.com- Home movie makers can get their ideal movie making tool at Audio4fun Online Shop to produce video clips or movies for their loved pets: http://dvd-player.audio4fun.com...
|
|
Watermark Learning Announces IT Training Expansion to Phoenix, AZ - Twin Cities ... [2004-08-09 00:00:00]
Watermark Learning today announced national expansion with the opening of its second training center at the Tech One facility in Phoenix, Arizona.
August 9, 2004 -- http://www.WatermarkLearning.com ...
|
|
Tech-Pro Limited Releases Version 1.2 of Tech-Pro Utilities [2006-08-02 02:39:23]
Update to utility suite adds new functionality to key utilities.
Cockermouth, UK - August 1, 2006. Tech-Pro Limited is pleased to announce the release of version 1.2 of its utility suite, Tech-Pro Ut...
|
|
Arizona-based High Tech Consulting and Ventures Firms Announce Formation of Ford... [2004-09-30 00:00:00]
Kathleen Forden, of Idea Avenue, Inc. and Kathleen Gorden, of Arizona High Tech Talent Partnership (AZHTTP) today announced the formation of Forden Gorden Ventures, Inc., an Arizona-based corporation....
|
|
Syntheway has released Realistic Virtual Piano VSTi v2.1 [2005-12-01 00:00:00]
Realistic Virtual Piano is a acoustic grand piano emulation with a breathtakingly rich and realistic sound. Particular care has been taken in the reproduction of the original realism and touch respons...
|
|
VOSI.biz launches Chinese version (http://cn.vosi.biz/) remote virtual server an... [2009-07-16 03:58:04]
July 15, 2009, VOSI.biz (www.vosi.biz), the leading cloud-based Virtual Office, Virtual Server and Virtual IT service provider has launched the Chinese version (http://cn.vosi.biz/) remote virtual ser...
|
|
You can creat your own MSN Avatars now! [2005-10-12 00:00:00]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
James
October 11, 2005, MSN Content Plus Inc announces the release of MSN Avatars Creator 1.0.
MSN Avatar is also named MSN Display picture. Wit...
|
|
Watermark Learning and Tech One Bring IT Skills Development Training to Phoenix,... [2004-10-05 00:00:00]
Watermark Learning is partnering with Phoenix-based Tech One to provide increased IT skill development training to Phoenix-based business professionals and clients.
Phoenix, AZ October 5, 2004 -- htt...
|
|
Virtual Tour Software Tourweaver 4.00 is released [2008-10-10 02:22:13]
Easypano has released Tourweaver 4.00 for creating virtual tours with splendid flash features. Tourweaver is a program for creating Flash virtual tours with 360 panoramas, still images and floorplans....
|
|
|
|
| Power MP3 Cutter Joiner |
 Power MP3 Cutter Joiner is a powerful and ease-to-use audio editor. It builds audio cutter and audio joiner in one software. Supports MP3, WAV, WMA and OGG cutting/joining. Cut/join with high precision and no quality is lost! |
|
| Wondershare DVD Slideshow Builder |
 With Wondershare DVD Slideshow Builder, you can burn your home movie to high-quality DVD for playback on TV, publish all-round video on YouTube, or create photo movie for iPod, iPhone, Zune and more. |
|
| Babala |
 Out of some high monastery comes Babala, a simple logical game with elements of move strategy. Muggers are afoot, amid obstacles and booby traps. You get only limited moves and shots each round. 200 expertly-crafted levels, test of wits not reflexes. |
|
| ScreenCamera |
 Virtual camera and webcam splitter that transforms your computer desktop into a webcam allowing you to do live real-time screencasts through Skype, Messengers, UStream, LiveStream, JustinTv, etc... Plus split your webcam on multiple applications. |
|
| *Spherical Panorama Virtual Tour Builder |
 SP_VTB virtual tour compiler. Presentation tools. It intended for creation of multimedia presentations with spherical and cylindrical panoramas, hot spots, map, compas, video, objects, foreground speech, background music, flash animation, Html. |
|
| Magic Camera |
 A virtual webcam software that enables you to stream files/screens to chat software, or add amazing video effects to your webcam. Record webcam, split webcam are also supported. Hot on video chat & live broadcast. |
|
| XT Typing Tutor |
 Typing tutor inspired by guitar method. It teaches you how to use ALL YOUR fingers in order to get some true typing speed. It also shows you EXACTLY how to PLACE your FINGERS BEFORE TYPING parts of words (fingers are drawn on a virtual keyboard). |
|
|
Latest press releases
