As the games that we play become more and more complex, the necessity for excellent voice communication becomes a priority. Vivox has long been a player in the area of voice chat technology. We had the opportunity to interview Vivox's CEO Rob Seaver about how his company stays relevant in an expanding market and growing towards the future simultaneously. Check it out!
MMORPG: Please introduce yourself and tell us your position with Vivox.
Rob Seaver: Hi, I am Rob Seaver, CEO at Vivox.
MMORPG: How long has Vivox been available to gamers?
Rob: We’ve been integrating our voice chat technology into games for about the last eight years. Our first customer was CCP Games for EVE Online, and the most recent launch we announced was The Elder Scrolls Online from Zenimax. We’ve integrated our services into over 100 games, including games from Wargaming, Daybreak (formerly SOE), Ubisoft and many others.
MMORPG: How many players use Vivox on any given day?
Rob: We serve some of the largest multiplayer games in the world, including World of Tanks, Elder Scrolls and Planetside 2. Millions of players use our services in these games every day.
MMORPG: With the ever-increasing number of voice chat options available to gamers and even natively embedded within games, what makes Vivox the best choice?
Rob: Game publishers choose to integrate our voice chat solution into their games because it provides the best experience for gamers. It’s integrated, so players can easily communicate with each other without having to deal with separate applications. It’s cross platform, so players on a console can talk to their friends on a PC or tablet. We’re the only provider of spatial (3D) voice chat so players hear other players based on their position or how far away they are. Overall, we provide a higher quality experience that makes the game better and the community stronger.
MMORPG: What are unique features and characteristics does Vivox contain that sets it apart from all other voice chat programs currently available?
Rob: We’re the only provider with users on Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. That means we’re uniquely positioned in a number of ways. We provide a consistently high quality and massively scalable experience to gamers and to game developers across those platforms; we enable interesting opportunities to mix those platforms for cross-platform gameplay and companion applications; and we see a great opportunity to leverage our desktop application (C3, http://downloadc3.com) to keep gamers connected to their friends even when they’re not playing.
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MMORPG: Where do you see Vivox in the next five to ten years?
Rob: We’ll continue to lead the way in communications for gamers. Already, we provide a more immersive experience on more platforms than any other solution, and this will continue. You’ll see us continuing to expand the reach of our offering to more devices and platforms, connecting gamers in new ways to keep them in touch with their gamer friends and the game community when and how they want, when playing and outside the game, and making new experiences like VR more interactive and immersive.
MMORPG: What, if any, impact do you see Virtual Reality having on voice chat programs like Vivox?
Rob: VR is a great opportunity for Vivox. VR provides a more immersive visual environment for the player, and demands a more immersive communications experience as a result. We are the only provider of spatial (3D) voice chat with any scale in the market today (we provide this functionality to millions of gamers now) and we have more experience with the complexities of real-time immersive communication than anyone. Today, almost all VR applications are single player, but as multi-player games come to market, you’ll see Vivox providing voice chat solutions that are worthy of the amazing visual experience.
MMORPG: Where are you concentrating your research (for new features etc.)?
Rob: The key areas for us are to continue to expand the reach of our platform (for example, we recently launched our first Xbox 360 and Xbox One integrations) – mobile will clearly be an important part of our future – as well as ways to connect players with each other and their communities in more and better ways.
MMORPG: Anything else you would like to add?
Rob: I would like to thank you for your time and to also encourage your readers to let us know what they think of our voice chat technology in their favorite games. We’re always looking for player feedback!
Thanks so much for your time!
