Adobe announced today that Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 will be available for download tonight at 9pm Pacific.
Adobe has talked up the improvements that both releases will bring to the gaming experience, thanks to hardware accelerated 2D and 3D graphics rendering via a technology known as Stage 3D.
"With up to 1,000 times faster rendering performance over Flash Player 10 and AIR 2, developers can animate millions of objects with smooth 60 frames per second rendering and deliver console-quality games," Adobe said in a blog post.
Stage 3D will be available on Mac OS, Windows and connected televisions, with support for mobile platforms including Android, Apple iOS and BlackBerry Tablet OS expected in an upcoming release. Adobe said LG and TiVo are the latest partners to bring Flash-based apps to connected TVs and other digital devices via AIR.
"Flash Player 11 and Air 3 allow game publishers to instantly deliver engaging games to anyone with a PC, tablet, smartphone, or connected TV," Adobe's Tom Nguyen said late last month. "And with Stage 3D, game publishers and developers can take their games to a new level, creating new opportunities for game developers and publishers to deliver and monetize their content."
Also today, Adobe unveiled "Proscenium," a 3D framework technology preview, via Adobe Labs. "Proscenium will allow developers using Flash Builder to rapidly prototype experiences focused on simple content interaction and display, whether for simple games, visualization, or high-quality rendering of small object collections," Adobe said.
Today's news was part of Adobe's MAX conference in Los Angeles, where the company also unveiled an update to Edge, an open source development tool that competes with its own Flash technology. Other product announcements included:
- Adobe Creative Cloud: An online repository for files created with Adobe Creative Suite and Adobe Touch Apps, with 20GB of cloud storage.
- Adobe Touch Apps: Six touch-screen apps for Android and iOS tablets, including Photoshop Touch, Collage, Debut, Ideas, Kuler, and Proto.
- Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, Single Edition: Create an iPad app for $395 per app.
And on the acquisition and partnership front, Adobe announced:
- The company will acquire Nitobi Software, creator of PhotoGap and PhoneGap Build.
- Adobe will also purchase font maker Typekit Inc.
- WoodWing Software customers will be able to combine WoodWing work with the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite.