Philips Appoints Neil MacDonald As amBX CEO

Electronics company Philips has appointed former Yoomedia PLC CEO Neil MacDonald as the new CEO of its “ambient experiences” gaming peripherals division, amBX. MacDonald has also held senior management positions at Dixons Stores Group, Fujitsu Siemens, BT, and Sportal. Philips intends to “reinvent the gameplay experience” with its amBX technology, allowing developers to use light, color, sound, rumble, and even air flow through enabled devices to deliver a “surround senses” experience. Philips’ current line of amBX-enabled gaming peripherals include LED color-controlled lighting, rumble peripherals and variable speed desktop fans. Philips’ amBX technology and peripherals are already compatible with high-profile game releases for the PC, such as Far Cry 2, Supreme Commander, and Qake 4. Developers, publishers, and peripherals manufacturers, such as Ubisoft, Codemasters, and THQ, have licensed the technology to include with their future games and products. “I’m ready to bring all my retail, hardware and online experience to drive the business upwards and onwards at this important and exciting time in the amBX lifecycle,” commented Neil MacDonald. “There are some extremely high profile development, publishing, hardware and retail companies enthusiastically supporting amBX, and we intend to continue to expand on those partnerships and push the boundaries of what amBX can achieve across both the trade and consumer sectors.”