Adobe’s new Flash vs. HTML 5: 3D game on

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Adobe’s third-quarter results were mixed, with profit beating expectations but sales missing them. But what reportedly excited analysts and investors Tuesday — shares rose sharply in extended trading — was the software company’s brighter-than-expected sales forecast for the fourth quarter. And the new version of Flash, due out in a couple of weeks, figures into that optimism.

Accelerated graphics capabilities in Flash 11 and AIR 3 will enable 3D gaming on the Web, something that will provide “new ways for the game industry to make money,” said Danny Winokur, Adobe Systems vice president, in a phone interview Monday with GMSV. Rendering that’s supposedly 1,000 times faster than the previous versions of the software, along with support for native extensions and other features, provide a “foundation for building console-quality experiences,” Winokur said. 3D gaming will be enabled on desktop PCs and TVs first, and on mobile devices in the next several months, he said.

In Adobe’s earnings call Tuesday, CEO Shantanu Narayen said the company was “doubling down” in its investment in HTML 5, the new Web language with multimedia capabilities that is viewed as a threat to Flash. Flash-based sites are not viewable on Apple’s iPhone and iPad because Apple does not allow it; many developers are using HTML 5 instead. Last week, Microsoft said during its preview of Windows 8 that its tablet interface, Metro, will feature a “plug-in free HTML 5″ experience. The trend away from longtime standard Flash has prompted many questions about its future.

Adobe recently introduced new tools such as Edge, which uses HTML 5 for animations, and Wallaby, which allows conversion of Flash files into HTML 5.

Winokur said the company is doing its part to “advance HTML5 as fast and as far as it can go.” But he also said that for graphics- and video-intensive efforts, such as gaming and video, customers “continue to see advantages for Flash that cannot yet be matched by HTML 5.”

The new versions of Flash and AIR will also include 64-bit support, ensuring compatibility with new versions of browsers such as Internet Explorer. Also, added support for the H.264 video standard within iOS apps will let users view videos within those apps. With several other new features, Adobe clearly is doubling down on Flash as well. Introducing 3D gaming ups the ante against HTML 5.

“There’s room for both on the market,” Michael Gartenberg, research director at Gartner, said by email. ”Adobe has demonstrated that even as HTML 5 has advanced, so too has Flash and that for many consumer Web experiences Flash can deliver a richer experience.”

Souce : http://blogs.siliconvalley.com/