Is the Phantom a Game Console? I say 'no' Opinion?

[Godzilla]

There is much more out there on infinium labs little silver 'max headroom/big brother' always on media-less 'digital media rights controlled' "game-playing-dedicated-pc" but heres a quickie from a recent q&a that penny arcade was nice enough to post.

 

http://www.penny-arcade.com/phantom.php3

 

What do you think?

 

I don't think the phantom even qualifies as a game console. Its some kind of new category. and though I collect game consoles, I don't think I'll ever buy a phantom unless it's at big lots for $9.99 just for the hell of it.

[eldunko]

I think it's an interesting concept, reminds me of iTunes...

[liveinabin]

It's a machine used primarily for playing games. It's a games console.

[Godzilla]

Is it? or is it used to control your soul and feed satan???? hmmmmm....

[Lemmi]

by the timne this thing is released it will be out of date

[joeybastard]

Is it? or is it used to control your soul and feed satan???? hmmmmm....

 

If it did that then I might buy it.

[Jasoco]

Think of it this way. Is the Xbox a computer or a console?

 

Then you have your answer.

[Godzilla]

Think of it this way. Is the Xbox a computer or a console?

 

Then you have your answer.

 

see it takes media tho. it works without an internet connection. its a box that plays games when u plug them in. thats my definition of a console. the xbox doesnt have a serial port or a printer port, or require a keyboard or a mouse, etc. so to me its not a computer at all, any more than the ps2 or dreamcast or n64 or saturn or genesis etc.

[Ze_ro]

I'm still not sure whether to like this thing or not... it's a nifty idea, and it's probably well ahead of it's time. However, I absolutely abhor any form of digital rights management... anything that prevents me from getting the most out of my technology is a bad thing in my opinion. There's also the fact that the machine is essentially a PC that is guaranteed to be obsolete in a year or so. There may be 32,000 (or whatever) games now... but since they're all available on the PC, I don't see much point.

 

--Zero

[Punisher5.0]

It's neither because it's not real.

 

It's an illusion!

[JagMX]

i put the definition of phantom in the other thread

 

it doesnt xist - dont think its real cuz its fake!

it pretty much makes sense - the defintion of phantom describes this "game console" perfectly - its nothin so get over it

[JagMX]

here we go

 

 

phantom:

 

Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; a ghost or an apparition.

 

Something elusive or delusive.

 

An image that appears only in the mind; an illusion.

 

 

[JB]

My opinion...

 

There's nothign new or innovative about hte Phantom. It's the oldest commercial product ever, the con.

[Kyo]

If i cant buy my games in some sort of raw form(i.e.: disc or cart); then it's not a console.

[moycon]

If it is real... Its a safe bet that in a few years... It'll be a door stop.

[RCmodeler]

It's a machine used primarily for playing games.  It's a games console.

 

Agree. Whether the game is delivered by a ROM or a CD or DVD or DSL... it's still a games machine and therefore a console.

 

And yes, this thing will be obsolete by the time it's released, and quickly over-shadowed by the Gamecube 2, Xbox 2, and PS3.

 

Also, I thought it was funny when the article writer said, "We could have been looking at an empty case with a bright blue light." I suspect that's exactly what it was!

[Foxy Cleopatra]

Right now as things stand, I don't think this thing has a snowballs chance in hell of succeeding. Rob mentioned not one launch title, not one software developer supporting this thing, and it's to be released in 6 months? What is there to induce people to spend $300 on this thing. What does he see as the next step in the future of gaming? Virtual reality? Seems like all vision no reality. I've got an Xbox, what do I need with this?

This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper....

[Albert]

After reading the HardOCP article about the digging they did, I feel this console has zero chance of succeeding. That is, if it even comes out at all. It sure sounds to me as if they have been simply digging for investments for some time without anything to show, and that only now do they have a few prototype units. It's a PC with a fancy case, and DRM "technology" to restrict how you can use the games.

 

I will be amazed if this ever makes it to market and even more amazed should it last more than six months should it actually turn into a real product.

 

..Al

[Vic George 2K3]

Wouldn't change my desire to get a small cube-sized PC just for gaming.

[Bryan]

What would be cool would be an open spec for a simplified game PC and a stripped down OS to keep it fast & lean (maybe an embedded Linux kernel). It could be like 3DO with several companies offering versions of it, and it would be accessable and cheap. There's no longer any real reason for dedicated game hardware when the PC is so stinkin' fast.

 

-Bry

[Ze_ro]

Rob mentioned not one launch title, not one software developer supporting this thing, and it's to be released in 6 months?

 

The whole idea is that this thing plays PC games... they've claimed that there will be some 32,000 games available at launch (seriously). I guess they modify them to run under all the DRM and specific hardware so that you don't have to worry about that stuff. I wonder how far back they plan to go with the PC games though... will you be able to play Duke Nukem 3D or Doom on the Phantom?

 

Personally, I think it would be pretty cool if companies (or even just fans) would release bootable CD's (or DVD's eventually) that would just boot straight into the game. I've actually made a series of Dos games that will boot straight off a disk and run without a hard drive (any necessary mouse/video drivers are on the disk). Once the disk works properly, you could basically make a disk-based game system out of a 386 or 486... add bootable CD's into the mix, and you could get some neat stuff going. You might need some goofy tricks to avoid the fact that CD's are read-only of course.

 

What remains to be seen is whether thing thing will be a bigger failure than the N-Gage... I think it'll be a close call.

 

--Zero

[Albert]

The whole idea is that this thing plays PC games... they've claimed that there will be some 32,000 games available at launch (seriously). I guess they modify them to run under all the DRM and specific hardware so that you don't have to worry about that stuff. I wonder how far back they plan to go with the PC games though... will you be able to play Duke Nukem 3D or Doom on the Phantom?

 

It'll never happen, there will be FAR FEWER than 32,000 games available at launch, should the thing ever launch. If every game needs to be modified to run under DRM, that is time that SOMEONE has to spend modifying the game. To say nothing about actually licensing the games. They'll be lucky to have a few hundred games, in my opinion.

 

What remains to be seen is whether thing thing will be a bigger failure than the N-Gage... I think it'll be a close call.

 

Before it can be a bigger failure than the N-Gage, it actually has to escape the realm of vaporware. Even with the huge marketing push that Nokia can afford to put behind the N-Gage, it's still an obvious failure. Infinium Labs will have a considerably smaller sum of money to promote the Phantom (what a name). And Nokia actually does have some high-profile developers on board for the N-Gage, whereas Infinium has yet to name ONE developer or specific game that will be available for the Phantom's launch. For a company claiming that they will have tens of thousands of titles available for launch yet not able to name even a single game sounds like a lot of hot air to me. And that's all we've really seen of this console.

 

..Al

[Ze_ro]

It'll never happen, there will be FAR FEWER than 32,000 games available at launch, should the thing ever launch.  If every game needs to be modified to run under DRM, that is time that SOMEONE has to spend modifying the game.

 

Now that I think about it, I don't think it would take all that long... if the DRM was done properly, then it probably wouldn't require ANY modifications to the games... after all, it's not like these companies are going to give their source code to some unknown company like Infinium. My guess is that the DRM is just there to prevent you from getting at the hard drive and transferring/altering the data on it

 

Assuming this is the case, then all it would take to "port" a game to the Phantom would be to configure the game for the proper sound/control settings, and package it up for download. One person could probable do about 15 or 20 games a day easily, and since the release date is sometime next year, I can easily see them having quite a few games available at launch. Maybe not 32,000... but I'm sure they'll have a respectable amount.

 

In fact, I'm interested in how they plan on remapping the controls for all the games... perhaps the machine will automatically remap joystick events into keyboard events based on the configuration or something.

 

Even if this machine is a complete and total failure, it'll still be rather interesting. My guess is that they'll probably do something stupid, like charge $800 for the machine, and make you pay a monthly fee.... that alone will kill the machine without any help from the DRM and no-media approach.

 

--Zero

[RCmodeler]

What would be cool would be an open spec for a simplified game PC and a stripped down OS to keep it fast & lean (maybe an embedded Linux kernel).

 

 

Like Commodore=64 and Amiga used to be. Those computers were kick-butt game machines. Problem is that only rich people with ~$1000 could afford them.

[Foxy Cleopatra]

Rob mentioned not one launch title, not one software developer supporting this thing, and it's to be released in 6 months?

 

The whole idea is that this thing plays PC games... they've claimed that there will be some 32,000 games available at launch (seriously). I guess they modify them to run under all the DRM and specific hardware so that you don't have to worry about that stuff. I wonder how far back they plan to go with the PC games though... will you be able to play Duke Nukem 3D or Doom on the Phantom?

 

Personally, I think it would be pretty cool if companies (or even just fans) would release bootable CD's (or DVD's eventually) that would just boot straight into the game. I've actually made a series of Dos games that will boot straight off a disk and run without a hard drive (any necessary mouse/video drivers are on the disk). Once the disk works properly, you could basically make a disk-based game system out of a 386 or 486... add bootable CD's into the mix, and you could get some neat stuff going. You might need some goofy tricks to avoid the fact that CD's are read-only of course.

 

What remains to be seen is whether thing thing will be a bigger failure than the N-Gage... I think it'll be a close call.

 

--Zero

 

Ok but they didn't even specify what audience they are targeting. They said they aren't targeting people like us, so to speak, people who have nearly every console, plus a PC. So who are they after? If it plays PC games, the people who would want that already have PC's to play those games. Why would they want this? Infinium hasn't given any specific reason why it would be better than your PC. If they are targeting the mainstream they've got nothing to draw people to their product.

 

Most video game console makers have at least a few games titles they can market as "must-have exclusives" with the release of their system. Sega and Nintendo had the old stand-bys Sonic and Mario to boost sales. They could say "You want this system because this is the only place you can get blah-blah-blah..." The Phantom doesn't have that. I guess I'm looking at it from a promotion standpoint. We're aware that this thing exists, but the masses out there probably don't. And if Infinium is trying to get investors they've offered nothing worth investing in. It's a long shot at best...