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SQUARE ENIX ANNOUNCES FIGURE BASED ON DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION HERO ADAM JENSEN

LOS ANGELES (September 16, 2010) — Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of SQUARE ENIX® interactive entertainment products in North America, revealed today a new premium-quality action figure based on the central character from DEUS EX HUMAN REVOLUTION™, Adam Jensen. 

DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION PLAY ARTS -KAI- will be the latest addition to the PLAY ARTS® -KAI- series, and will feature newly-augmented Adam Jensen and even more.

“The Square Enix Merchandise Division is dedicated to creating collectible action figures that combine high production value and excellent articulation,” said Kanji Tashiro, Merchandise Director of Square Enix, Inc. “The DEUS EX series has captivated fans across the globe since the first game was released, and we are thrilled and pleased to be making action figures for its latest entry. The game’s truly unique style and visually striking technology provides us with a perfect opportunity to do what we do best: craft a high-quality product that brings to life a vibrant universe.”

Square Enix continues to evolve their craft as they work closely with various developers to extend their creative vision and expertise to properties beyond Square Enix Group’s own-IPs. In addition to entries from titles such as FINAL FANTASY® XIII and FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST®, the current PLAY ARTS -KAI- line-up includes action figures from a variety of other popular titles.

View currently available PLAY ARTS -KAI- action figures at www.square-enix-shop.com/usa  

 

DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION is the return to one of the most critically-acclaimed video game franchises of all time, telling the story of Adam Jensen, a man cybernetically augmented against his choice who finds himself in the middle of global conspiracy to which he holds the key. By offering players the chance to play the game in multiple vastly different ways, DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION challenges the foundations of gaming and provides an immersive experience where every choice has a lasting consequence.

DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION has been developed for PC, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

 

About Square Enix, Inc..

Square Enix, Inc. is a U.S. based wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd., a holding company leading Square Enix Group. Square Enix, Inc. publishes and distributes entertainment content under the Square Enix Group’s internationally renowned brands such as Square Enix, Eidos and Taito in the Americas. The Square Enix Group includes a global network of leading development studios located in North America, Europe and Japan. The Group boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property including: FINAL FANTASY®, which has sold over 97 million units worldwide; DRAGON QUEST®, which has sold over 54 million units worldwide; TOMB RAIDER®, which has sold over 35 million units worldwide; and other well-established products and services.

More information on Square Enix, Inc. can be found at http://www.square-enix.com

 
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DistinctDev Announces OpenFeint Integration for The Moron Test on Android

DistinctDev Announces OpenFeint Integration for The Moron Test on Android
The Moron Test is one of the first apps to use new OpenFeint service on Android; Moronites Rejoice!

Seattle, WA – September 15th, 2010 – DistinctDev announced today that its popular brain-teasing app, The Moron Test is one of the pioneer apps to integrate the new OpenFeint service on Android. Teaming up with OpenFeint to launch their newly cross-platform service, DistinctDev takes another step towards complete feature parity between iOS and Android platforms. With OpenFeint built into the Android version, The Moron Test now has the same great social features as the iOS version: friends lists, chat rooms, leaderboards, and achievements.

“We’re excited to be partnering with DistinctDev on our initial rollout of the Feint network on the Android platform. The Moron Test is one of the most popular titles on both iOS and Android, so it’s the perfect fit for Feint,” says Jason Citron, CEO of Aurora Feint.

Since its launch less than two months ago on the Android Market, The Moron Test Lite has received more than 700,000 downloads. The conversion rate from the free version to the paid version has recently been above 7%, and The Moron Test is now the 9th most downloaded Paid Game with over 65,000 downloads on the Android Market. On iOS, The Moron Test was the #1 Paid App on the US iTunes App Store at launch, and has remained in the Top 100 Paid Apps for over 500 consecutive days.

“DistinctDev has demonstrated that they have a keen awareness of what makes a game a hit, regardless of the platform,” says Eros Resmini, VP of Marketing at Aurora Feint.

“Taking The Moron Test cross-platform has been a great success for us, and OpenFeint integration on Android is a huge step towards parity,” says Mike Monaco, Co-Founder and COO of DistinctDev. “Now that the leaderboards, achievements and friend lists are on both versions, it has become almost completely irrelevant which smartphone platform you use to play The Moron Test.”

“For us, integration on both iOS and Android is the killer feature that makes OpenFeint the default choice over Game Center,” says Berkeley Malagon, President and CEO of DistinctDev. “While we applaud Apple’s efforts to create their social platform, Game Center is inherently tied to iOS, and we don’t expect that to change any time soon.”

The Android version of The Moron Test is available for $0.99 on the Android Market or at:
http://www.androidzoom.com/android_games/brain_puzzle/the-moron-test_gvwy.html 
The iOS version of The Moron Test is available for $0.99 on the iTunes App Store or at:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-moron-test/id312343159?mt=8
The Moron Test Lite is available for free on the iTunes App Store at:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-moron-test-lite/id388338756?mt=8

 
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Pocket Devil Chapter 12: Eyedip’s Little Devils Are Ready to Wreak Havoc On The Playground

Mischief-Making Minions go “Back to School” in Chapter 12 Update for iPhone and iPad

New York, NY — September 7th, 2010 — Eyedip has just announced a Pocket Devil and Pocket Devil HD “Back to School” update with all new content! Summer is coming to an end, but the Underworld and the Mugat2 are inviting users to the schoolyard to come and play… with their eternal souls. In conjunction with this announcement, Eyedip is also pleased to announce that their other title, Flight Doodle, is currently Free in the App Store.

Pocket Devil Chapter 12: “Back to School”, now with brilliant new Retina Display graphics for iPhone 4 owners, allows players to summon hordes of devilish underlings called “The Mugat2.” As their malevolent overseer, players can completely annihilate them, one by one, choosing from a variety of torture methods like the new “iron maiden” themed locker. Points and trophies are also earned in mini-games, including a brand new slingshot game that shoots the tiny minions straight into heaven! 

“It’s incredibly fun to play with the Retina Display graphics, it just looks so rich and brilliant,” says Eyedip Co-Founder Jeremy Adelman. “The school-themed additions make for terrific new features as well.” Co-Founder Steven Fleisher added, “With new mini-games and ways to torture the little guys, it’s hilariously fun!”
 
Pocket Devil – Hell Yeah! is available for  $0.99 in the iTunes App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or from http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocket-devil-hell-yeah/id321268666?mt=8

Pocket Devil HD – Hell Yeah! is available for $2.99 in the iTunes App Store on iPad or from http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocket-devil-hd-hell-yeah/id385307598?mt=8

Flight Doodle for iPhone (normally $0.99) will be available free on Friday, September 17 from the iTunes App Store at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flight-doodle/id320633750?mt=8

For more information please visit: www.eyedip.com/pocketdevil

 
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Cognito Comics Interview


Cognito Comics Interview

I’ll shamefully admit to not knowing about Cognito Comics until I read an interview Ain’t It Cool News conducted with the comic book publisher last week. I was intrigued by this iPad centric publisher and decided to check out their site. There they have a sample of their comic Operation Ajax, developed specifically for the iPad. The experience was amazing. Cognito, with the help of Tall Chair’s development app, have realized the potential the iPad has for motion comics. I highly recommend checking out their website and experiencing the comic for yourself, I want an iPad after sampling it it’s that good. So with that in mind I did the only logical thing, I interviewed them. Enjoy!  

Q:Operation Ajax is your first iPad centric title. Does developing a graphic novel specifically for the iPad, with motion and other new elements, take longer than it would to develop a printed version? 

A: Definitely! Each panel of each page is drawn in two to four layers, so that when we add motion none of the images are incomplete. The pencilers, inkers and colorists are all working on these layers, so it adds time at each step of the process. Then there’s the motion design on top of that. Lastly, we implement the images into an engine that encodes the art and allows us to incorporate it into the reader application. We’re about as far off from the Jack Kirby production model as you can get…

Q:How much more difficult is it to develop a fully functioning motion comic? Do you have to think differently in terms of editing and the composition of the page? 

A: There’s a lot of ways we could have gone about developing the art for this book, but we chose to start by designing the page as it would appear in the static book format, and then designing the interactive version from there. Our desire is to create an experience that feels like reading a graphic novel, but that takes advantage of an electronic mobile technology. Making the traditional comic layout as our creative point of departure helps us stay true to the comic tradition.

 —

Q:What you’re doing with motion comics is probably the best I’ve seen so far yet a lot of digital comics is just dumping the print version online. Why do you think other publishers haven’t put the effort in to make digital comics a truly unique experience and fully utilize the medium? 

A: Thanks, that’s really nice to hear. There’s a pretty basic difference between our product and the adaptation comics you can get through any of the other reader apps: Our images are created in a digital pipeline specifically for the iPad format. The result is that all our text, page layouts, motion, and color are clear and crisp. We’ve had a lot of fun reading the classics on our mobile devices, but what we’ve designed feels natural and fluid in a way that the adaptations don’t. There will always be a market for printed comics. We know that for sure because we still love collecting and trading comics, and that’s not going to change, but I love reading comics on my iPad too. I can’t speak to the strategy of other publishers. Let’s just say time will tell. 

 —

Q:You’ll be linking to all sorts of extra material due to the historic aspect of Operation Ajax to really enhance the readers experience. Do you think any comic/graphic novel can be given this sort of motion comic treatement or will publishers have to be selective? 

A: Ahah! This is really an interesting question that we ask artists and writers whenever we have the chance. I’d say that a comic book creator can take the creative opportunities presented by this narrative third dimension and run with it. Our only limitation is our own creativity. This applies to stories that incorporate nonfiction elements, and fully fictional stories alike. 

Q: One thing I liked about Operation Ajax was the fact that the reader was in charge of the transition from panel to panel. You read at your own pace but also you experienced each panel individually and for the first time. Does that allow you to do different things as a storyteller? Knowing your reader can’t see what’s going to happen next?

A: Again you’ve tapped into something that’s totally unique about this format. We definitely are using the panel transition process to intensify the feeling of moving from one moment to the next. I can’t really get into specific examples, but I can tell you for sure that we really like playing with the element of suspense. 

Q:What’s the plan for the future? Are there several comics you are going to make or will you have to see how successful Operation Ajax is first? 

A: I can’t get specific, but we’re really excited about collaborating with some awesome talent on future projects. It’s too early to reveal anything though. 

Q: Your mission statement is to “present socio-political and world issues to the general public through the engaging mediums of comics, animation, and games”. Is that a testament to your respective backgrounds? Why strike out on such a broad front? 

A: The best way to answer that question is to say that we see the future of digital media as being less divided into genres as in days past. It does have a lot to do with the backgrounds of our team. Until now, books were on paper and games were on tables or screens. Those divisions don’t apply anymore. If you look at our mission from that perspective, the emphasis really becomes more about making meaningful work in the world of new media. Our purpose is to make products that are about something more meaningful than mere entertainment, because there’s enough of that stuff being made already. 

— 

Q: Would you be looking to support your titles across multiple mediums ie an Operation Ajax game and animation or do you think each of your projects will be best suited to the one medium? 

A: That’s hard to say. I mean, the possibilities are endless, aren’t they? 

For some reason I always knew or expected it to be a start-up like Cognito that would really experiment with and play with the idea of motion comics and how the reader reads a comic. Like I said I want an iPad just so I can see how the experience feels over a 100+ page story. Thanks again to Cognito Comics for taking the time out to speak with me.


 
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MINDSCAPE ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF U-SING 2 THE AUSTRALIAN EDITION FOR Wii™ IN MID NOVEMBER

U-Sing 2 to feature leading Aussie and international artists including Bernard Fanning, the Temper Trap, Vanessa Amorosi, Empire of the Sun and many more

SYDNEY, 16 September, 2010: Mindscape has today announced the release of U-SING 2 – Australian Edition for Nintendo Wii. Following the success of the original U-SING which sold over 300,000 copies globally, U-SING reaffirms its position as the leading karaoke game for Wii with its all-new Aussie flavoured edition.

As part of a global release campaign, U-SING 2 will be specifically developed for six different regions- Australia, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. Mindscape has worked to cater each edition by selecting popular international and home-grown hits from each country.  

The Australian edition will feature 40 tracks on the game disc. As part of Mindscape’s on-going partnership with Universal Music, additional tracks will be regularly added for download via the Nintendo Wii U-SING store. With access to Universal Music’s extensive back catalogue and partnerships with labels including EMI Music- the karaoke options will be endless!

The first twenty tracks to be announced for U-Sing 2 include ten Australian and ten international tracks with twenty more to follow.

Australian Playlist

Aussie tracks  
Wolfmother Far Away
Bernard Fanning Wish You Well
Empire of the Sun Walking On a Dream
The Temper Trap Sweet Disposition
Vanessa Amorosi and Seany B Mr Mysterious
Alex Lloyd Amazing
Short Stack Sway Sway Baby
Orianthi According To You
Brian McFadden feat. Kevin Rudolf Just Say So
   
International tracks  
Bloc Party Banquet
Florence & The Machine Dog Days Are Over
Lady Gaga Bad Romance
Owl City Fireflies
Rihanna Disturbia
Spice Girls Wannabe
Blur County House
Extreme More Than Words
Shania Twain That Don’t Impress Me Much
Coldplay Violet Hill

U-SING 2- Australian Edition is scheduled for release in mid November for Nintendo Wii.

About Mindscape

Mindscape develops, publishes and distributes kids, family and NextGen games, productivity and reference software on the PC, Mac, DS, Wii, Playstation, XBox and online platforms. The company’s rich portfolio of award-winning products include Broderbund, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Endemol, Hoyle Games, IMSI Design, Konami, Legacy Interactive, Mark Burnett Productions, Myhorseclub, Nancy Drew, Nuance, Playfirst, PopCap, Punch, Roxio, The Learning Company and Universal Music. Mindscape is a publicly listed company on the Paris Stock Market – Alternext since December 2007, with offices throughout Europe and Australia.

www.mindscape.com.au

About Universal Music (www.universalmusic.com)

Universal Music Group is the world’s leading music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 77 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, the industry’s leading global music publishing operation. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalogue of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world’s most popular artists and their recordings.  Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi, a global media and communications company

 
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COOKING MAMA NOW OFFERING BABYSITTING AND CRAFTING

505 GAMES REVEALS A NEW MAMA TITLE EACH FOR NINTENDO WII AND DS 

Milton Keynes, UK – 16 September 2010 – Global videogames publisher 505 Games has today announced the latest new arrivals in the celebrated Cooking Mama series. Cooking Mama World: Babysitting Mama for Nintendo Wii and Cooking Mama World: Hobbies & Fun for Nintendo DS will both offer fans of the eponymous ‘Mama’ another two adventures into her world of domestic bliss when they are both released in Australia and New Zealand on 11 November.

Cooking Mama World: Babysitting Mama is the first videogame to come bundled with a life-sized baby doll peripheral designed exclusively by Cooking Mama Limited. Wii owners will place the Wii Remote™ into a secure pouch in the doll’s back to bring it to life! Each doll is hand stitched, making no two babies exactly the same.

Playing along with Mama, players will have to follow instructions to carry out all the duties of a diligent baby sitter, including feeding your baby food, playing with toy blocks, changing nappies and helping baby take its first steps. The on-screen baby meter will display baby’s mood and show how well it is being cared for by giggling and smiling all the way down to crying. Over fifty different challenges are available which can also be tackled in multiplayer mode, allowing two babysitters to go head to head to see who has the best handle on caring for little ones under Mama’s watchful eye.

Cooking Mama World: Hobbies & Fun will give DS owners the chance to try their hand a variety of home crafting activities such as pottery, woodwork, jewellery design, origami and many more. Following Mama’s careful instructions, players will be shown how to create a selection of gadgets and trinkets, including a bird box, necklace, kaleidoscope, cushions and patchwork quilts.

“The Cooking Mama games have been an unprecedented success for us as a company and our fans are always keen to see what we have come up with next,” commented Juliette Fielder, Senior Product Manager, 505 Games. “The direction we’ve taken with the series will give gamers a new take on Mama, particularly as Babysitting Mama will provide the world’s first baby peripheral!”

Both Cooking Mama World: Babysitting Mama and Cooking Mama World: Hobbies & Fun will be published by 505 Games on 11 November, for Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS respectively.

 
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The official trailer for the Red Dead Redemption: Liars and Cheats Pack is now live here on GameTrailers.com.

The official trailer for the Red Dead Redemption: Liars and Cheats Pack is now live here on GameTrailers.com

The trailer shows off the huge array of new content featured in the Liars and Cheats Pack, including Multiplayer Poker, Liar’s Dice, horseracing with combat, the new Competitive Multiplayer mode Stronghold – and the very first glimpse of the devastatingly destructive Explosive Rifle

Below is the ‘before’ shot of the Explosive Rifle in action from the trailer.  Check out the video to see the ‘after’….

 
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EA and Grasshopper Manufacture Announce Shadows of the Damned

Iconic Japanese Developers Suda51 and Shinji Mikami Take Gamers on a Twisted Journey Through a Demented Underworld

Australia & New Zealand., Sep 16, 2010 — Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) and legendary Japanese developer Grasshopper Manufacture today revealed Shadows of the Damned, an all-new psychological action thriller game from executive director Suda51 (director of No More HeroesTM), creative producer Shinji Mikami (director of Resident Evil(R)) and music composer Akira Yamaoka (sound director of Silent HillTM). Shadows of the Damned follows a demon hunter deep into a hyper-twisted re-imagining of hell where he must rescue the love of his life by defeating the armies of darkness with the power of the light. Shadows of the Damned is scheduled for release in the Australian and New Zealand winter of 2011 on the Xbox 360(R) videogame and entertainment system and PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system.

“We are excited to finally take the cover off our latest project and invite gamers from around the globe to experience this new, warped world we have created,” said Goichi Suda, CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture. “By partnering with EA, a publisher that truly shares our commitment to quality and innovation, we have been able to develop Shadows of the Damned according to our ambitious vision while creating an entertainment property we believe will appeal to a global audience.”

“With Shadows of the Damned, gamers will fight for love in the most difficult arena imaginable … hell,” said Shinji Mikami, Creative Producer of Shadows of the Damned. “Players will find themselves surrounded by demons set on destroying their heart and soul. Only the strong will survive.”

In Shadows of the Damned, gamers will assume the role of Garcia, a hard-as-nails, leather-clad, motorcycle-riding professional demon hunter who finds his true love kidnapped by vengeance-seeking demons. As he explores the farthest reaches of the netherworld, Garcia battles through hell and back, with danger and turmoil around every corner. Throughout Shadows of the Damned gamers will find themselves challenged by demented puzzles and thrust into gruesome battles with vile and deformed creatures that can only come from the darkest recesses of hell. The game features a grotesque, highly stylized art direction that transports players into a grisly world. The entire experience is enveloped with a pulse-pounding musical score by famed videogame music composer Akira Yamaoka, that takes the over-the-top action sequences and intense boss battles that both Suda51 and Mikami are renowned for creating to new heights.

“We are honored to be working with Suda-san and Mikami-san and all of the wonderfully creative minds at Grasshopper. This is one of the most daring and innovative projects in the EA Partners program,” said David DeMartini, Senior Vice President and General Manager, EA Partners. “We look forward to launching this game next summer.”

For more information on Shadows of the Damned, please visit www.shadowsofthedamned.com  or follow the development team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SotD or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/shadowsofthedamned.

 
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Hollywood horror star set to terrorize Melbourne

For Immediate Release: 16 September 2010

He terrified millions in his role as Jason Voorhees in horror film ‘Friday the 13th’, now American actor and stuntman Kane Hodder is headed to Australia to rein fear on thousands of guests at the fourth annual Melbourne Armageddon Expo.

In what will be chillingly coincidental, the 6ft 3.5inch tall Hollywood star will touch-down in the state on the 13th of October, just days before the Expo to be held on the 16th and 17th at Melbourne’s Exhibition Centre.

Hodder will be the first ever horror star to grace the Armageddon Expo and will meet and greet with fans over the weekend together with fellow celebrities from Futurama, Doctor Who, Terminator and Babylon 5.

The Armageddon Expo will mark the actor’s first trip down under and he is thrilled to be representing the horror category of the show.

“This is my first ever visit to Australia and I’m very excited about it. I have wanted to come here for a long time and I’m told there are a lot of horror fans in Australia and I’m looking forward to meeting them.”

“I feel that it is quite an honour to be the first horror actor to come to the Armageddon Expo and I look forward to experiencing as much of the show as I can. I feel that my first obligation is to be as available to the fans as possible.

“Along with meeting fans and taking pictures, and maybe trying out some new weapons on selected people, I’d like to check out the masquerade ball and see some of what vendors might have to offer,” he added.

The actor was recently in London to celebrate the world premiere of Adam Green’s ‘Hatchet 2’, where he plays Victor Crowley. The film will be released without an MPAA rating, marking the widest release of an unrated genre film in more than 25 years.

“I’m very excited about the release of ‘Hatchet 2’. We had the premier in London last weekend and it was very well received. I also have four other films coming out in the next few months, including ‘Old Habits Die Hard’ where I run a mortuary and I kill people, ‘Sickle’ where I’m the Sheriff of a small town and I kill people, and ‘Exit 33’ where I run a gas station and I kill people. Is there a recurring theme here? There’s also ‘The Afflicted’ where I play an abused husband. That’s right, I don’t always have to kill people in films, but I do enjoy doing that – very much.”

Hodder is the only actor to have portrayed Jason Voorhees more than once (parts VI through to X) and is recognised for his portrayal of horror icon Leatherface in the stunts of the 1990 film Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III. He also played Victor Crowley in Hatchet and serial killer Dennis Rader in the film B.T.K.

Bill Geradts from the Armageddon Expo said, “We are extremely excited to announce Kane Hodder as our first ever horror guest to go to the show. He’s a horror film icon and an all-round great actor and stunt man.”

“He is set to be a massive hit at the show, especially for scary movie fanatics, and I know there are loads out there. Don’t be afraid to go up and say ‘hello’ to Kane and ask him about his fascinating movie roles.

“There will be celebs from all types of movie genres attending Armageddon and it’s not often a mixed group of famous Hollywood actors come to Australia, let alone, are in the same room,” he added.

To add fun to fear, Director and co-founder of Troma Films Lloyd Kaufman will also be in attendance at the show.

Lloyd is known for his direction in comedy horror flick ‘The Toxic Avenger’ and ‘Tromeo and Juliet’.

Anticipated to beat last year’s crowd of 13,500, the bigger and better 2010 Armageddon Expo will showcase the latest in sci-fi, anime, cartoons, gaming, comics and much more.

Originally from New Zealand, the huge fiction and fantasy gathering will be Melbourne for the fourth time this year and, following a recent announcement, is set to launch in Tasmania in June 2011.

Head to Ticketmaster to purchase general admission tickets to the October event or, for more information, visit armageddonexpo.com/au. You can also ‘fan’ or ‘follow’ the Armageddon Expo on Facebook and Twitter to find out the latest

 
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Radical new monitor mounting design by Atdec re-defines workplace aesthetics

Ultimate marriage of form and function is a stunning artistic achievement and sets a new benchmark in industrial design

Sydney, Australia, 16 September 2010 — The desktop monitor has become the focal point of much of our work lives, not to mention our link to much of the outside world. Atdec believes that this window has been static and confining for too long, and has designed a dramatic new mounting concept that allows computer monitors to be adjusted to the most ergonomic position for the user or shared with co-workers with the touch of a finger. In doing so, the company has made sharing an electronic display as easy as sharing a paper printout, while bringing elegant, forward-looking aesthetics to any desktop environment.

For designer Simon Duff, Levitate was more than just an industrial design challenge. It was a chance to alter the very nature of the workplace itself, allowing information to be viewed and shared easily among groups, rather than confined to a single individual. By combining innovative new techniques in functionality with a fresh, futuristic look, Duff and Atdec have created a stunning new paradigm in desktop monitor mounts, an increasingly important product category previously characterised by unattractive and immobile hardware that was difficult to adjust and an eyesore to behold.

Levitate is unique in that it allows simple, convenient height and reach positioning, rotation, pan and tilt for desktop displays without cumbersome user adjustments. Key to its unique range of movement is the ability for its counterbalanced upper and lower arms to move independently of each other, which allows a wider range of movement that can be achieved in seconds. The lower arm offers optional 180 degree limited rotation; preventing collision with partitions and walls in desktop environments. Unlike conventional mounts, which are based on a simple “pole” concept, Levitate allows even large format displays to be adjusted easily from a sitting position, thanks to its dual-arm, counterbalanced engineering.  This unique approach yields a striking form factor much like a fine desk lamp, rather than the usual indifferent metal tube.

Aesthetics are a key value proposition for Levitate, which not only offers clean lines and minimal hardware clutter, but also a thoughtful cable management system that hides unsightly wiring through an integrated channel. Different colours and finishes will be offered, allowing Levitate to provide any decor or architectural environment with a great new look.

Installation has also been made radically easier and more versatile. Unique to Levitate, the desk clamp is fitted and tightened from above the desk so no need to get on your hands and knees under the desk to install the product. In addition, Levitate ships with both the desk clamp and a bolt through option for different installation requirements. To assist in large projects, a visual gauge on the arms allows the counterbalance adjustments to be calculated once according to the screen weight and then replicated en masse for the remainder of the mounts to be installed.

In keeping with the movement toward a greener planet, Levitate has also been designed with complete environmental responsibility in mind.  Each of its parts is recyclable and can be broken down into their individual base components. No hazardous or VOC emitting materials are used and raw metal finishes are maximised. Even its packaging is designed for the use of recycled paper pulp and recyclable paper material wherever possible.  

Atdec’s Levitate will launch at the bi-annual ORGATEC trade exhibition, which will be held October 26-30 in Cologne, Germany.

About Atdec
Atdec is a leader in the visual display mounting industry committed to bringing to market best-of-breed visual mounting display products that offer the highest levels of innovation, ease of installation and quality. Unique features and product flexibility make Atdec’s products ideal for a broad range of applications in various markets including: commercial space, POS, home entertainment, office, education, digital signage, healthcare, and the audio and visual marketplace. All Atdec products are Designed for Disassembly (DFD) which means they are made to be taken apart easily for recycling at the end of life. Atdec offers a free return policy at the end of product life.