Press release: 1992-03-31: INTERACTIVE NETWORK ANNOUNCES NEW WAY FOR VIDEO GAME PLAYERS TO COMPETE FOR PRIZES AT HOME
From Sega Retro
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This is an unaltered copy of a press release, for use as a primary source on Sega Retro. Please do not edit the contents below. Language: English Original source: The Free Library |
INTERACTIVE NETWORK ANNOUNCES NEW WAY FOR VIDEO GAME PLAYERS TO COMPETE FOR PRIZES AT HOME MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Video game players around the country will soon be able to simultaneously compete against each other for prizes while sitting at home -- without tying up telephone lines -- thanks to a patent granted to Interactive Network (NASDAQ: INNN) (IN). Details of the patent will be announced on April 2 by David Lockton, president and chief executive officer of Interactive Network, at the "New Hollywood in Silicon Valley" session at the HomeMedia Expo, held at the Beverly Hills Hilton. Video game manufacturer Sega of America, known for its technology leadership, is the first company with access to IN's two-way system for video games as part of a Joint Licensing Agreement. "Market research has shown for over ten years tremendous interest in competitions," said Lockton. "IN's system not only dramatically addresses the huge potential market, but also provides an entirely new platform for the video and multi-media industry." IN's patent protects the use of the company's developed wireless technology to control unlimited numbers of video and computer players in competition in real time. Interactive Network already owns a similar patent for the company's interactive television services. "There are only two ways to allow an unlimited number of players to compete in their homes for feedback and prizes," Lockton added. "They either continually use the telephone or other hardwired communications system -- which ties up the phone line -- or utilize the more efficient 'wireless' method protected by the IN patents." According to Tom Kalinske, president of Sega America, the educational implications of IN's technology for the Sega system and the company's multi-media platforms are enormous. "The ability to give feedback, mark progress, and provide incentives -- combined with the entertainment value of our 16-bit sound and graphics -- will attract a new generation of educational and entertainment software programming for the Genesis system," Kalinske said. Interactive Network is the leader and pioneer in the interactive television industry. The company owns existing patents on its developed technology that allows its subscribers to compete for prizes while playing along with live, televised sporting events and game shows, and to interact with news and talk programs. The system uses an FM subcarrier to transmit data from IN headquarters to subscribers' Control Units, simulcast in real time with the televised broadcast signal. The entertainment system is currently available in the Sacramento, Calif., region and will be introduced to the San Francisco Bay Area on April 6, 1992. Sega Genesis owners who purchase the interactive peripheral will be able to participate in IN's live interactive television programming as it launches nationally in 1993. Low-cost peripherals are also being developed by IN, which would allow virtually any personal, lap top or notebook computer owner to play competitive computer games, as well as use the personal computer as a control and display device for Interactive Network's interactive television services. Interactive Network is a publicly held company trading under the NASDAQ symbol INNN. Sega, Genesis and Game Gear are registered trademarks of Sega of America, headquartered in Redwood City, Calif. -0- 3/31/92 /CONTACT: Suzanne Nastaskin or Rhonda Lee of Bob Thomas & Associates, 310-376-6978, for Interactive Network/ (INNN) CO: Interactive Network ST: California IN: CPR SU: PDT EH-JL -- LA011 -- 3230 03/31/92 08:33 EST COPYRIGHT 1992 PR Newswire Association LLC No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder. Copyright 1992 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.