FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
FUJITSU INTERACTIVE UNLEASHES LOVABLE PUPPYDOGS, VIRTUAL STYLE
The Puppies of "K-9 Cyber CompanionTM" Grow Up as They're Trained Just Like Real Dogs - But They Won't Chew Your Slippers to Shreds
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 31, 1997 - A litter of virtual puppydogs from Fujitsu Interactive is ready to romp onto home PCs in April. These puppies are not flesh-and-blood furballs - they are 3D computer critters combining high-level animation with artificial intelligence. Because these pups have smarts, owners can train them just like real dogs, and as they learn new sets of tricks, they grow up. Unlike real dogs, though, no pooper scoopers, flea powder or vet shots are required. All you need is $19.95, a CD-ROM drive and a PC running Windows(R) 95.
"Our goal was to offer consumers a believable computer generated dog," said Yoshi Matsumoto, senior vice president of Fujitsu Interactive. "3D graphics are only the beginning. A complex object modeling technique gives our animals realistic behavior, and the built-in intelligence lets kids communicate with and actually establish a relationship with their cyber pet. K-9 provides something very close to the satisfaction and fun of owning a real pet - but without the mess and fuss."
It's a Dog's World, After All
K-9 Cyber Companion is both entertainment software and an interactive screensaver. The CD-ROM comes with three breeds of 3D dogs (a rover, a poodle and a boxer), nine tricks, three age levels for each dog, and three 3D environments (a field, a beach and a ballroom). Each scene is rendered in high-resolution depth and detail and features environmental sound effects, such as car horns blowing and insects buzzing, to which the dogs respond.
The idea is for the owner to train his/her dog. Like the real thing, K-9's cyber pups can be distracted by an airplane passing overhead or a cat demanding to be chased. They might get engrossed with the way the balloons in the ballroom pop when pounced upon, get tired and take a nap, or get antsy and start wandering around.
Or the owner might be the one to get side-tracked from the training regimen - naming the pooch, taking snapshots of it as it grows up, exploring the viewing angles available in the different environments, and so on. Just playing with the critter - which is spring-loaded in the best tradition of cartooning - is distracting fun. Owners can lose all sense of time tossing the ball and
watching the dog fetch it, or for that matter tossing the dog and marveling at its amazingly rubbery body.
Teaching a New Dog Old Tricks
But back to the point: training. The owner selects one of the three kinds of puppies and uses a Training Tool Bar to get the pup to come and to give positive reinforcement as it learns its first trio of tricks: come, sit and speak. Each day that the puppy successfully learns a trick, it's rewarded with a bone. After it accumulates five bones, the pup has a birthday party and becomes an adolescent, ready to learn to stay, lie down and jump. Having mastered these, the dog graduates to adulthood and three new tricks: dancing, finding the ball and heeling. Five daily successes at this level entitles the owner to a personalized Dog Training Certificate. Success!
Ah, but remember: two more goofy, gangly, bright-eyed pups are eagerly waiting in the wings.
System Requirements/Product Availability
K-9 Cyber Companion runs on the Windows(R) 95 operating system and requires a Pentium or compatible processor (75 MHz) or faster, 8 MB RAM, and 256-color video card.
K-9 Cyber Companion is available immediately from your local software retailer. The suggested retail price is $19.95.
About Fujitsu Interactive
Fujitsu Interactive's corporate mission is to be a world leader in publishing innovative current and next-generation computer-based multimedia software, with a focus on development in its pioneering new category, "Artificial Life."The company's long-term goal is to redefine and transform the computer-user interface and the computing experience from interactive to experiential - enabling users to actually build a relationship with computer characters through Artificial Life technology.
Incorporated in May 1996 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Fujitsu Interactive, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fujitsu, Ltd., Japan's largest computer company.
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Copyright(C) 1996, 1997 Na Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Fujitsu(R) and the Fujitsu logo are registered trademarks of Fujitsu Limited. Fujitsu Interactive and the Fujitsu Interactive logo are trademarks of Fujitsu Interactive, Inc. K-9 Cyber CompanionTM is a trademark of Fujitsu Interactive, Inc. Microsoft(R), Microsoft Windows(R) and the Microsoft Windows(R) logos are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.