Avid Technology (NASDAQ: AVID), headquartered in Tewksbury, has acquired The Motion Factory, a Fremont, Calif.-based company specializing in applications for the creation, delivery and playback of interactive rich 3-D media-most notably real-time animation-for character-driven games and the Web. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed at press time.
Additionally, The Motion Factory’s former president and CEO David Pritchard, has been named general manager of Montreal-based Softimage Co., Avid’s graphics and special effects subsidiary.
"Bringing The Motion Factory’s innovative technology together with our top-of-the-line 3-D products will really set the pace for the future of the interactive 3-D industry," contended David Krall, president/CEO of Avid. "Integrating these two technologies will significantly streamline 3-D content development, and allow animators and developers much greater freedom in creating content for everything from stand-alone gaming consoles to Web-based interactive experiences."
Pritchard claimed that uniting The Motion Factory technology with Softimage/XSI, a 3-D non-linear animation system, "will make Softimage the clearly preferred choice for both linear and interactive developers, including those developing for consoles and the Internet, and for entertainment, educational and commercial applications." XSI was formerly known as Sumatra.
Pritchard had served as president and CEO of The Motion Factory since ’98. Prior to that, he was with Macromedia Inc., an interactive multimedia tool publisher, as its VP of Europe and acting VP of worldwide sales. He has also held senior sales, marketing and general management positions at Apple Computer and Lotus Development Corp.
