ScanSoft VoCon Games Speech SDK Available for Free Evaluation by PC and Console Developers

Business Wire, June 15, 2005

BURLINGTON, Mass. -- Advanced Speech Recognition Enables Gamers to Interact with Game Characters Using Voice Commands, Enhances Interactive Play and Adds a Natural Interface for Gaming Enthusiasts; Now Available Free for Qualified Developers

ScanSoft, Inc., (Nasdaq: SSFT) a global leader of speech and imaging solutions, today announced that its family of VoCon(R) Gaming Speech Software Developer Kit (SDK) products is now available for free download and evaluation for qualified PC and video game developers. Some of the world's most popular titles, including SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs for Sony PlayStation(R) 2 and Mario Party(R) 6 for Nintendo GameCube(TM) have incorporated speech recognition technology from the VoCon Games Speech SDK to enhance the gaming experience.

SpeechWorks Solutions from ScanSoft is powering a new generation of games and applications that uses the power of speech recognition to provide advanced command and control of the gaming environment, as well as real-life interaction for gaming enthusiasts. Gamers can perform complex operations or interact with game characters simply by speaking, immersing gamers more deeply into the fantasy of the game. Speech technology makes an innovative and noticeable impact in a video game marketplace crowded with titles struggling to distinguish themselves. By taking advantage of the free evaluation, developers will be able to experience, explore and understand first-hand the benefits of speech recognition, and experiment with new interface design for upcoming titles.

"Speech adds a whole new element to the user experience for games, as evidenced by its success with some of the world's best-selling game titles," said Alan Schwartz, vice president, Embedded Speech, SpeechWorks Solutions from ScanSoft. "By making our Speech Games SDK available for developers, we're providing developers with the opportunity to explore the power of speech, and expand its opportunity for gaming titles on current and future generations of PC, handheld, and console platforms."

Benefits of the ScanSoft(R) VoCon(R) Games Speech SDK include:

--Highly Accurate Recognition

The VoCon Games Speech SDK features a phoneme-based speech recognition engine that uses proprietary signal processing techniques and advanced speech recognition algorithms to provide highly accurate voice recognition in different environments.

--Scalable Vocabulary

Whether it's simple voice commands in a squad-based shooter or more advanced conversations in a role-playing game, developers can easily create new vocabularies or enhance existing ones using a structured grammar format.

--Speaker-Independent Acoustic Models

With the VoCon Games Speech SDK, the end user can simply plug in the microphone and start playing with no training or system enrollment required.

--Language and Voice Support

Acoustic models for major European and Asian languages are available for localization purposes. The SDK also includes models for children's voices as well as standard male and female adult voices.

--Multiple Recognition Modes

Game developers can easily associate actions with recognized words or phrases. End users can initiate speech commands in "push-to-talk" (or "intercom") mode or by talking directly in the microphone.

--Support for Customization

Full customization of the speech recognition engine parameters is available to optimize performance and CPU and memory consumption--including reduction of the memory footprint for simple applications.

Details and Availability

ScanSoft VoCon Games SDK is available for free download for qualified PC, PlayStation 2, and GameCube developers. Visit www.scansoft.com/games to apply for the evaluation program.

About ScanSoft's SpeechWorks Division

SpeechWorks is the most trusted name in speech. Through its global partner network, SpeechWorks delivers field-proven applications that revolutionize the way people interact. Today, thousands of companies and millions of users around the world depend on SpeechWorks(R) solutions from ScanSoft to deliver vital business information and simplify every day life. For information, please visit www.ScanSoft.com/speech.> About ScanSoft, Inc.

ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT) is a global leader of speech and imaging solutions that are used to automate a wide range of manual processes -- saving time, increasing worker productivity and improving customer service. For more information regarding ScanSoft(R) products and technologies, please visit www.ScanSoft.com.

ScanSoft, the ScanSoft logo VoCon, and SpeechWorks are trademarks or registered trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. All other company names or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.