CRI Middleware, Inc.

The development, sale and support of various types of middleware and tools concentrating on the field of games and other forms of entertainment with the use of CRI middleware is being carried out on a worldwide scale.

Backed up by our catch phrase of "Technology that delights the eye and the ear," we have dedicated more than ten years to researching, developing and supplying video/audio compression and playback technology and multi-streaming technology. In addition to this, over the course of the past few years we have marketed general-purpose file compression and management technology and encryption technology in the form of hardware optimization in order to cater to the requirements of our customers.

CRI provides solutions in the following four main fields:

• 1. Video playback
• 2. Audio and multi-streaming
• 3. File compression and management
• 4. Graphics

These four fields of solution have been made possible owing to the following six elements that represent their background.

• 1. High-level technology based on more than ten years of excellent results
• 2. An independent company dedicated only to the development of middleware
• 3. Codec that does not infringe upon copyrights
• 4. Highly-acclaimed, high-quality support system
• 5. Transferring leading-edge technology developed for the game industry into other genres
• 6. Provision of worldwide support

CRI boasts a background in research and development that is older than the company (*). Carrying out research and development into leading-edge technology is, of course, extremely important, but there is also a need for the so-called “obsolete” technology that has been tempered throughout many years of stable use in middleware and run-time libraries. CRI middleware has been used in the development of games for more than ten years and has been improved and strengthened repeatedly throughout. Selecting CRIWARE therefore provides excellent levels of quality and performance without increasing the amount of time our customers need to spend on examining and comparing the component technology. (*): See the <a href="/company/">Company</a> page for further details.

As the name of the company, CRI Middleware Co., Ltd., suggests, we are a company dedicated to developing, marketing and supporting middleware. We never lose sight of our sense of values that direct our sole objective of being involved in the field of middleware, and this means that we never have to make unnecessary compromises. The trust and results that this has built up has led to our products being utilized in more than 1,700 products throughout the entire world, which is an amazing figure. And, in order to ensure that all of our customers can use our products without anxiety, we make sure that the executives and employees of the company hold the majority of shares, and we guarantee that our assets are maintained both neutrally and with complete stability.

The majority of the codec (encryption and decryption technology) used for compressing and melting video, audio and other files is technology that we have developed in-house, and none of it, including all other parts, infringes on intellectual property rights are patents. Having thoroughly researched and examined the characteristics of each codec, our engineers then expand and adjust our own functions for each item of hardware in order to provide easy-to-use APIs and CRIWARE. Feel free to use this without anxiety.

The main mission of CRI is not to provide middleware for our customers to use, but so they can imbed it effortlessly in their products and then sell those products on the open market to the satisfaction of their users. We therefore place enormous emphasis on the technical support we provide to the engineers in charge of the actual incorporation process. Middleware developed overseas targets mainstream game developers, we at CRI provide detailed and comprehensive support for our customer while exploiting our strengths as a vendor of middleware that is purely developed in Japan.

Games have already acceded to a dominant position within the entertainment industry. There is also a tendency for leading-edge technology related to video and audio to assume the central component of game development. CRI is also providing leading-edge technology that leads the advance of games to the field of embedded systems. It goes without saying that embedded systems are diversified in their hardware configuration and customer requirements, so we also carry out consulting services to create systems with optimal hardware and software combinations in addition to providing the middleware through the medium of holding intensive meetings with our customers for each project. We have been extremely active in the contributions we have made to not only amusement equipment, for which we have built up formidable results, but also to digital appliances, mobile telephones, car navigation systems and other fields.

While maintaining our stance as a homegrown middleware vendor, we have also been active in expanding overseas, notably to North America, since the establishment of the company in order to spread the word of technology developed in Japan throughout the world. We established a US subsidiary in 2006 under the name of CRI Middleware, Inc. This provided us with a springboard to increase our overseas involvement, and we are currently working hard together with our reliable on-site workforce to encourage the use of our products in overseas titles. The quality of our products has already been recognized overseas, and not only have we managed to build up some impressive results by getting them used in EA and a wide range of other titles, our CRI ADX was also selected to receive the Game Developer FRONT LINE AWARD ’04, a middleware award aimed at North American game developers, in the audio category. CRIWARE also provides the optimal solution for game development requiring localization, and the immense advantages of this can also be exploited in marketing Japan-developed games overseas.

The solutions that CRI provide are not packaged products. They are improved and evolved in accordance with the requirements and wishes of the customer. We at CRI leave no stone unturned in helping our customers achieve the results that they want as not only professionals in the fields of hardware and software, but also a trustworthy partner for our clients.