[PR] New Tegra Zone App Is Your Destination for the Best Mobile Games Optimised for Tegra

Free App Ties into Google Android Market, Provides Quick Access to Richest Games for Tegra-powered Super Phones and Tablets

SINGAPORE — March 2, 2011 — NVIDIA announced today that the Tegra Zone™ app is now live on the Android Market, providing a one-stop destination for consumers seeking the richest games for their super phone or tablet powered by the NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2 mobile super chip. The free app delivers a curated selection of Tegra processor-optimised games, as well as professional game reviews, high-res screenshots, HD video trailers, gameplay videos and behind-the-scenes featurettes. Sale and delivery of users’ selected games are completed using Google’s Android Market.

Games on Tegra Zone apps are especially enhanced for Tegra 2 super chip-powered devices, and are more realistic and interactive. Among those selected as launch titles are Dungeon Defenders: First Wave Deluxe HD, the first game available for Android that’s built on Unreal Engine 3; Samurai II: Vengeance; and Galaxy on Fire 2 THD. A complete list is provided below.

Introduced over the past several months in a variety of super phones and tablets, the Tegra 2 super chip is finding a growing market, particularly among those interested in console-quality gaming on their mobile device. It is built with the world’s first mobile dual-core CPU – which unleashes the best Web experience, with up two-times faster browsing and support for full Adobe® Flash® Player hardware GPU acceleration, plus unprecedented multitasking capabilities. It also includes an NVIDIA GeForce® GPU – which provides stunningly rich visual experiences and console-quality gaming.

Tegra Zone Highlights:

The first Tegra super chip-enhanced games include:

• Samurai II: Vengeance, by MADFINGER Games: A hack-and-slash action game with stylised manga graphics and quick, bloody gameplay. On par with console 3D brawlers, Samurai II: Vengeance takes advantage of the raw processing power of Tegra 2 with four times more texture resolution on characters, increased geometry for more realism, and completely redesigned knockdown moves.
• Dungeon Defenders: First Wave Deluxe HD, by Trendy Entertainment: Combines the depth of strategic gaming with the satisfying action of RPG character building, in a beautifully stylised cartoon fantasy setting. The Tegra-enhanced version includes dynamic lighting schemes and advanced post-processing effects, as well as the same number of maps and game play levels on PC and Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) versions. Due to the graphics capabilities of the Tegra 2 processor, players can join in multiplayer, cross-platform games across super phones, tablets, PCs and the PS3.
• Galaxy on Fire 2 THD, by Fishlabs: Epic sci-fi adventure with spectacular action, compelling story and a free gameplay unparalleled in depth and complexity, available for the first time on Android. The Tegra super chip-enhanced version renders the action at a consistently smooth frame rate, and includes more detailed spaceships with much higher quality textures.
• Backbreaker THD, by Natural Motion: An intense, arcade football experience that looks even better and is more interactive when enhanced on a Tegra 2 processor. This version features high-quality textures on the characters, field and stadium and more rendered content, such as real-time action replay on the “Jumbotron” scoreboard. Also look for realistic shadow effects and dynamic lighting effects such as lens flares.
• Fruit Ninja THD, by Halfbrick Studios: A juicy action game with squishy, splatty and satisfying fruit carnage. The Tegra 2 super chip-enhanced version is the definitive version of the best-selling game and adds special graphic detail and effects, including smoother edges on the fruit models, more geometry and realistic shading and lighting.
• Vendetta Online, by Guild Software: 3D space combat, massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that permits thousands of players to interact as the pilots of spaceships in a vast universe, available for the first time on a mobile device. The Tegra super chip -enhanced version is the first cross-platform space MMO and allows gamers to play against PC players and other mobile players in the same universe.
• Monster Madness, by SouthPeak Games: A top-down action/shooting game where players fight off the monster invasion in four-player melee action. This game takes advantage of NVIDIA PhysX® technology for realistic in-game physics effects. The Tegra processor-enhanced version is graphically identical to the console version in every way.
• Hardwood Solitaire IV, by Silver Creek Entertainment: A beautiful rendition of 10 classic solitaire games. Ported from the PC and Xbox 360 versions, the Tegra 2 super chip version incorporates real-time lighting and shadows in their game environments and adds new 1080p high-resolution textures for the card faces and backs.

NVIDIA has worked closely with game developers to enhance games for the Tegra 2 super chip, bringing such features as:

• More realism: Increased geometry detail, higher resolution textures and complex shaders, lighting, and shadows.
• More interactivity: Larger number of characters on screen and more instances of independent animations
• Extra challenging: Advanced artificial intelligence processing , complex world and player management
• Improved game play: More levels to tackle and more equipment for gaming characters to use
• Better game play and an enhanced shopping experience

Quotes:

• “We’re working with game developers and publishers to turbocharge mobile gaming for Android super phones and tablets. Our goal is to bring a console- class gaming experience to super phones and tablets and bring the generation of gaming to the future of mobile devices. Tegra Zone is a free app we’ve built so gamers can find great games for Tegra in one easy place.” – Tony Tamasi, Senior Vice President, Content and Technology at NVIDIA
• “Tegra Zone is great for the mobile ecosystem. It’s enabling new, optimised software and providing opportunities for developers to create premium content for Android devices. ” – Ben Barjarin, Principal at Creative Strategies Inc.
• “Tegra Zone brings the best Android games to the palm of your hand. Working with NVIDIA, we’ve brought Samurai II: Vengeance to Tegra devices, which make its stylised manga graphics, quick, realistic gameplay and screen-popping action come to life.” – Marek Rabas, CEO at MADFINGER Games
• “Gamers don’t have to look any further than Tegra Zone for the best in mobile gaming. The only way to experience the complete Dungeon Defenders adventure is on Tegra-powered devices, which deliver full-blown high-def, Unreal Engine 3-powered graphics and a real-time cross platform online multiplayer experience.” – Jeremy Stieglitz, Co-Founder of Trendy Entertainment
• “Take one look at Tegra Zone, and you’ll see how Android games are stepping it up visually. The Tegra-optimised version of Galaxy on Fire 2 is the ultimate sci-fi gaming benchmark. Plus, it matches the experience on a gaming PC or console.” – Michael Schade, CEO of Fishlabs
• “Backbreaker Football looks amazing on Tegra super phones and tablets, and it will rock on Tegra Zone. We’ve pushed the boundaries for visual fidelity, including full self-shadowing on characters – a first on a mobile device.” – Torsten Reil, CEO at Natural Motion Games
• “By utilising the power and finesse of Tegra 2, Fruit Ninja has been developed and polished to an incredible standard of quality. It’s allowing us to debut a brand-new version – Fruit Ninja THD, for Tegra Zone.” – Shainiel Deo, CEO at Halfbrick Studios
• We’ve been waiting years for a mobile chip to bring this type of graphics horsepower and potential to mobile gaming. Vendetta Online brings a fast-paced, 3D MMORPG experience to your favorite Tegra-powered device through Tegra Zone.” – John Bergman, CEO at Guild Software
• “Monster Madness absolutely comes alive on Tegra-powered devices. To get an idea of why Tegra 2 is the new force to be reckoned with in digital gaming, check out the faster frame rate, intuitive touchscreen interface and amazing 3D graphics powered by Unreal Engine 3.” – Melanie Mroz, CEO and President at SouthPeak Games
• “NVIDIA’s put a huge effort into bringing games that look and play better on Tegra 2. All of the flagship versions of our Hardwood games look fantastic and provide a fabulous experience on Tegra 2 devices.” – Rich Stewart, CEO at Silver Creek Entertainment