Alias/Wavefront Announces Maya 5 Now Available.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 24, 2003

Maya Customers on Full Annual Maintenance Can Now Download Maya 5

- New and Upgrading Customers Can Purchase Software on May 1, 2003

Alias/Wavefront(TM), an SGI (NYSE:SGI) company, announced today the availability Maya(R) 5, the latest version of its Oscar(R) award-winning 3D software package. Effective immediately, customers on full annual maintenance and registered for eSupport can access the industry-leading software by downloading the new version at www.aliaswavefront.com/maya/support. Maya 5 for new and upgrading customers will begin shipping on May 1, 2003. Maya 5 offers a host of innovative new ways to create digital content along with numerous customer-suggested productivity enhancements. Improvements added to both Maya Complete(TM) and Maya Unlimited(TM) software will energize artist and programmer workflows in such creative industries as game development, broadcast graphics, web content creation, design visualization and film production.

"We're looking forward to getting our hands on Maya 5," said Stephen Venning, 3D department operation manager, The Mill. "We use Maya's animation, lighting, modeling and rendering technology to achieve advanced effects in all areas of high end production. Also now with rendering through mental ray, Maya fits seamlessly into our pipeline."

"Response to our announcement of Maya 5 has been overwhelming, with huge demand from the community to get their hands on the new release. As a result we're delivering Maya 5 in record time and across all platforms," said Rob Hoffmann, senior Maya product manager, Alias/Wavefront. "Today we're pleased to demonstrate our commitment to existing customers by providing Maya 5 in a downloadable form for those on maintenance - a full week in advance of the shipping date. There truly is something for everyone in this new version, both for our community of existing Maya users and for our new customers. "

Unique Image Creation Possibilities

Advances in rendering technology and workflow in Maya 5 gives users the ability to create the right look for the job, whether it's the creation of photo-realistic film imagery or a simple vector graphic for the web. Maya software's new Hardware Renderer takes advantage of powerful next-generation graphics cards to create images significantly faster than traditional software renderers. With this new tool artists can quickly produce images for pre-visualization and broadcast quality final output. The new Vector Renderer readily transforms 3D content into web-ready 2D graphics or outputs them to such popular graphics applications as Macromedia Flash(R) MX, Adobe(R) Illustrator(R) and Go Live(R). As of Maya 5, all four integrated renderers are now unified through a consistent rendering user interface and workflow that allows users to readily switch between them, as needed, for a particular job or visual effect.

Maya 5 Propels Productivity

Maya's industry-leading modeling, animation and effects features have been fine-tuned and expanded using customer input to make production workflows more efficient. Numerous enhancements in areas such as character animation, dynamics and polygonal modeling also work to make production workflows more efficient. Programmers will benefit from deeper access to detailed shader, particle, light and polygon data, plus further extensions to the open rendering framework. Improved online tutorials, documentation and a free Learning Tool(TM) in every shipment will help new customers get up and running faster than ever.

Building on Existing Innovation

Maya has a rich history of innovation with tools such as Maya Paint Effects(TM), Maya Fur(TM) and most recently, Maya Fluid Effects(TM). In a commitment to support not just new features, but to build on existing unique tools, Maya Paint Effects can now be drawn as, or converted to, polygons. This enhancement allows Maya Paint Effects to be edited with regular polygon tools and output to other renderers, including mental ray and the new Vector Renderer, thereby bringing a new realm of creative possibility to web content. Maya 5 contains well over a hundred new preset brushes that lend further artistic possibilities to users.

Maya Fluid Effects, part of the Maya Unlimited package, has also been enhanced so that previously unobtainable effects, including true dynamic computation of wakes and the accurate simulation of ponds and lakes, are now easily achieved. Among the enhancements to Maya Fur is the addition of a new fur clumping feature that supports a range of natural looks such as wet, matted or dirty fur that have, in the past, been impossible to achieve.

Enhanced Data Exchange

Maya 5 also improves data exchange with leading technology applications which allows customers to interface with their choice of today's most popular data formats including; Macromedia Flash (SWF), DWG, DXF, Adobe Illustrator (AI), Encapsulated PostScript(R) (EPS), Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG(TM)), IGES, OpenFlight(R), StudioTools(R) and OBJ (MTL).

To view all the new features and functionality of Maya 5, please visit www.aliaswavefront.com.

Pricing and Availability

Maya Complete for the Windows, IRIX(R), Linux(R) and Mac(R) OS X operating systems, is priced at $1,999(1) and includes modeling, rendering(2), animation, dynamics, Maya Artisan, Maya Paint Effects, mental ray for Maya and Maya Embedded Language (MEL(TM)). Maya Unlimited for the Windows, IRIX and Linux operating systems, is priced at $6,999(1) and includes all features in Maya Complete along with Maya Fluid Effects, Maya Fur, Maya Cloth(TM) and Maya Live(TM).

Maya customers on full annual maintenance programs and registered for eSupport can now download Maya 5 at www.aliaswavefront.com/maya/support. Upgrades and new purchases of Maya 5 can be ordered through the Alias/Wavefront network of authorized resellers or online at http://www.aliaswavefront.com on May 1, 2003. For more information on Maya maintenance packages or any of our support options, please visit http://www.aliaswavefront.com/maya/support.

Version upgrades for Maya Complete are priced at $899(1) and for Maya Unlimited at $1,249(1).

(1) Prices are list prices for node-locked licenses; floating licenses for Maya Complete and Maya Unlimited are available at an additional fee. All prices quoted are in U.S. dollars. International pricing may vary. (2) Not all rendering features available on every platform.

About Alias/Wavefront

As the world's leading innovator of 3D graphics technology, Alias/Wavefront develops software for the film and video, games, web, interactive media, industrial design, and visualization markets. On March 1 2003, the company was awarded an Oscar for Technical Achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its development of Maya software, its professional 3D animation and effects package. Entertainment and games customers include: Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., CNN, Core Design Limited, Digital Domain, Disney, Electronic Arts, Industrial Light & Magic, Factor 5 LLC, Midway Games, Nintendo, Pacific Data Images (PDI), Pixar, Sega, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Square Co., Ltd., Warner Feature Animation and Weta Ltd.

Alias/Wavefront is a wholly owned, independent software company of SGI(R) with headquarters in Toronto and custom development center in Santa Barbara. Please visit the Alias/Wavefront web site at http://www.aliaswavefront.com or call 1-800-447-2542 in North America. International contact numbers include: Northern Europe, Middle East and Africa, [phone]; Germany, East & Southeast Europe, 0049 89 31 70 20; France, Spain and Portugal, [phone]; Japan and other parts of Asia Pacific, 81 3 5797 3500 and Latin America, 770 393 1881.

Copyright (C) 2003 Alias/Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited. All Rights Reserved.

The Alias/Wavefront logo and StudioTools are registered trademarks and Alias/Wavefront, Learning Tools, the Maya logo, Maya Artisan, Maya Cloth, Maya Complete, Maya Fluid Effects, Maya Fur, Maya Live, Maya Paint Effects, Maya Unlimited, ad MEL are trademarks of Alias/Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited in the United States and/or other countries worldwide. Maya is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc., exclusively used by Alias/Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited. SGI is a trademark and IRIX is a registered trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc. in the United State and/or other countries worldwide. mental ray is a registered trademarks of mental images GmbH & Co. KG. Macromedia Flash is a registered trademark of Macromedia Inc in the United States and/or other countries. Oscar is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Adobe, Illustrator, Go Live, and PostScript are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. SVG is a registered or unregistered trademark of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Windows is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Mac is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. registered in the US and other countries. OpenFlight is a registered trademark of MultiGen-Paradigm Inc. All other products or companies mentioned are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Alias/Wavefront, 210 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5A 1J7, Tel: [phone], FAX: [phone].

For screenshots and press images:

http://www.aliaswavefront.com/entertainment/press

Note to Editors: There should be a pipe symbol between "Alias" and "Wavefront". The pipe symbol was changed to a forward slash ("/") for transmission purposes only.