Following it's original unveiling earlier in the year, electrical giant Philips has today revealed at the GDC the names of two developers that have signed up to its amBX technology, which brings a range of sensory techniques to videogames. The two UK based studios, Revolution Entertainment and Sumo Digital, have worked on a number of titles including the Broken Sword franchise, with Sumo also responsible for bringing a number of franchises (including TOCA and Virtua Tennis) to Sony's PSP handheld.

Described as Ambient Intelligent technology, which will bring a 'sensory surround experience' to gamers through amBX-enabled furniture, lighting, fans, and heaters, amBX aims to bring a gameworld experience into the realworld. Philips are keen to point out that they're also in on-going negotiations with other development studios too.

"amBX provides an excellent platform for us to expand our business with a line of completely new peripherals," explained Engelbert van Pelt, Manager New Business Development, Philips Peripherals & Accessories, "where we can build on our technology strength, and especially our world class lighting technology. We're very excited about the new dimensions this will give to the game experience."

"amBX will allow us to deliver a level of sensory realism in our games that just hasn't been possible to date," commented Charles Cecil, Managing Director, Revolution Software. "This is vital in an adventure game which relies on drawing the player into a rich emotional experience. amBX really has broken the gaming mould and the possibilities for both game developers and players are extraordinary. We plan to use amBX in all our games."

It all seems a rather interesting notion, but we're not sure how many people would be prepared to integrate such an array of gadgets into their living room just so they could experience the wind rushing past them when they jump off a cliff in Tomb Raider; even hardcore gamers could find it hard to justify. That said, one environment where the amBX technology could flourish are in amusement arcades, which have pretty much died a death in the West over the last fifteen years.

Another question to pose (and this is just something to ponder), with Sumo and Revolution both on board for amBX, does this mean that Broken Sword 4 will take advantage of the Ambient Intelligence technology?

You can check out TVG's Broken Sword Q&A here. We'll have more from the GDC shortly...