A new console competitor

All of it sounds alright, I think they are heading towards the ultra-casual gamers with this product, since they will have the hiring of games and many MMOG's available. We will have to see how successful something like this is, since today there is a clout of MMOG's out there, or being developed at the moment, and we have yet to see how successful Valve's Steam technology is, since this console is about doing the same. The game hiring is interesting through, and I think the console would also allow the "chapter" game distribution method as I had discussed in another thread.

I guess I am waiting to see what they have to offer, but then again the Playstation 3 is around the corner, and the new Xbox shouldn't be too far behind either, so I'm a little apprehensive about how well this console will do.

And on the dick smith front, well tis a small Australian company, and it didn't developo the console during today's gaming "boom", so no real wonder why it fizzled out.

I think they are going to die a very quick death. As we have already seen with the dreamcast, being the best console on the market by no means guarantees success.
Also, they're not exactly offering anything that the xbox can't currently do. The only thing unique is the media they are going to deliver games on (all downloaded rather than hard copy). It seems that it almost relies on having broadband just to run...which will limit sales significantly. Game rentals will also be a much underused feature IMO...i can't think of many people who would pay $4 to wait 5-10 hours to download a game that they can only play for a day or 2...
The "Cross platform capabilities" is interesting... I'm not sure if it's actually legal for them to emulate the PS2, gamcube, or xbox to play their games, so assumedly this would only be for pc games?
I also thin their timing is bad, they'd be better off releasing in late 2004 and upgrading hardware accordingly in that time. Broadband takeup can only be higher in that time, and they will be the only "next-gen" console on the market (similar to how PS2 released before xbox and gamecube and got huge sales). If they release in the next year or so, they are competing against the consoles now (heck, most people probably only just got an xbox or PS2 this christmas, and aren't going to get another console for a long time), and then they will also be competing against the new xbox and PS3 when they are released around 2005, and by then their console will eb decidedly old-gen.
Lastly, if they plan for it to be the fastest on the market, are they also going to be the most expensive? High price != good sales. I'd also be interested in how much they plan to spend on marketing. I think MS's initial marketing budget for xbox was 1-2 billion or something? And it's only just really started taking off in the last 5 months or so when they dropped prices.
Anyway, don't like it's chances, but we'll see how it goes.
CYer, Blitz

Hi all,

This is my first post here, and I am just wondering is this "phantom" console a load of BS or what? I am not sure on the rest of your opinions but how can this company - and I quote "There are currently 32,679 retail game titles available and 418 shareware game titles and this does not include; adult, casino, sequels and new releases in past 6 months." and I am sure if this was my company doing an "Infinium Labs" and "phantom Console" search on google I would want some results and the results would want to be the first returned not someone advertising their digital wire guidance system.

Hope this didnt offend anyone for my first post

Sam

its funny because 32,679 is exactly 32k -- its a programmer in joke, this thing must be a hoax ;)

Glenn "Gaffer" Fiedler | Senior Programmer | Irrational Games

ahhh.... you WHACKY PROGRAMMER TYPES... [:D]

This is exactly what I am thinking (not along hte 32k lines) why hasnt anyone heard of any developers for these guys - please correct me if I am wrong.

Sam

If the console is priced below the current consoles then it may yet live somewhat, but if its the same price or higher than the other consoles then it will die a quick death. Mainly because its not a brand name, sony was a brand name when it came onto the scene with a playstation, microsoft is a huge brand name.

Well we shall see what this brings.

Thats exactly the problem though daemin...it would be almost impossible for them to bring a much better console in at a lower price. Microsoft already lose like AU$350 on each console they sell or something. If these guys are gonna bring in a better console they'd have to have better backing than MS does...and somehow i see that as unlikely.
As for gaffers comment, i don't know where you get that 32k is 32,679 if you're talking about powers of 2. That isn't even an even number!!
2^15 is 32,768, so what power are you talking in gaffer :)
Also, i don't think microsoft being a big brand name has really helped xbox. In fact it's more likely to have hampered their success due to the microsoft stigma with many gamer types, and even just normal PC users who are pissed off with windows :) Simply the amount of financial force MS had behind xbox is what made it take off. (Initial input of about $4 billion if i remember correctly, plus $2 billion for xbox live). Not many companies or investors have that sort of spare cash to throw into something that has only a small chance of succeeding.
CYer, Blitz

It's gonna need a thousand exlusive triple A quality titles upon release, play CD/SVCD/DVD/vinyl, hook up to your fridge/microwave/washing machine/toaster, take out your garbage, and should be given out for free. Then it's got a chance against Sony, Nintendo, and M$! [:)]

Lol Souri, if only it did all that.

The games shouldn't be too hard to aquire, especially for the rental part of the console, since many publishers would like to get their PC games to be distributed agfain onto another market, and if its running an 80x86 chip inside then it'll be very easy to do.

Although The amount of money required would be prohibitive, possibly they are only aiming for the American market now, and a few other small markets with a large broadband penetration, like Korea?

Ahh well, as long as we keep hearing some good news about the console we can assume that its still alive, and if news stops coming in then it will be dead in the water like so many other attempted products. Personally I think the next big thing will be the 3rd generation mobile phones, and the networked games that will be played on those "platforms".

gafferdecimal

my bad, but its still close enough to 32k to make me think its a joke number :)

Glenn "Gaffer" Fiedler | Senior Programmer | Irrational Games

This makes me think back to the "open source" console that was going to run linux and so forth i forget its name now but it folded. Also reminds me of the freedom ship www.freedomship.com i already purchased a room on that ship for 131072 im pretty happy with my investment really.

Hrm, which company was going to do the Linux Console?

Anyways, almost anybody can create their own console, just need to get a set top box, mod the case a bit painting it different colours and adding fancy fan bits to it, put in a reasonable CPU, ram, video card with TV out, get a wireless keyboard and mouse and joystick / gamepad etc. Then just sit it on the floor, plug it into the tv, and play as many games as you want. Simple!

i even have a name for it "the couch potato - BROADBAND ready!"

That Linux console was called Indrema.. I think there's a company in South Korea that's doing a console too - but for the Koreans.. I think there's a good chance that that will take off in the local market. They're pretty patriotic, and everyone's got broadband..