Too Good To Be True

[vbt]

He he, it seems the Phantom will be released, check here :

http://www.phantom.net/

Specs :

CPU : Pentium 4 3 GHz,

RAM : 256 Mo DDR

Video : NVIDIA chip

HDD : 100 Go

CD/DVD : None

OS : Modified XP

Price : above 400$

 

[Curtis]

I'd assume at that price "NVIDIA chip" would either be a GF4MX or even a GF2MX...

Still, I get semi-decent performance from my GF2MX at low resolutions, and since the output will be to a TV I guess resolution is largely irrelevant.

 

[muffinman943]

so if this emulates, why pay 4 roms??? its more like a computer to me,

 

[antime]

Have you actually read any of the articles linked? It is a PC, and the games are available as downloads on a subscription basis. (And hey, you can use complete words, it's not like there's a letter shortage out there.)

 

[Gallstaff]

Dude what a rip for 400 dollars. I could build that thing for under that much and actually give it some sort of optical media. What a crock of shiiiieeettt.

 

[Pearl Jammzz]

i still say never released.........but maybe, if it does get released then it will just flop.

 

[Quadriflax]

I still don't get it. I won't believe it until it's out there, in people's homes, and they aren't paying $500/month for games/access to whatever the hell it is they have. If this is a hoax, it's an impressive one. If not, where's all their advertising? I haven't read many game mags lately, but if this is a new system they should be all over ads in print, store displays, and TV spots. If this is real, they're doing a really shitty job of marketing already. Who's going to "pre-order" something they don't know anything about? All I'm seeing is hype. Maybe that's the point.

Anyway, even if it is real, I'm not getting one. I already don't trust it.

 

[antime]

IIRC the monthly subscription fee will be something like $10-$20. But anyway according to the article none of us are in the intended target audience. They're primarily aiming for wealthy middle-class families with children, who want control over what games their kids can play. And even if the machine flops, which it will, while it works it'll be a great channel for indie game developers since they'll be securing both marketing and distribution by signing up.

 

[Gallstaff]

I'm the intended audience exept for the kids controlling stuff part...

 

[antime]

You have children already, at your age? Wow..

 

[mtxblau]

Forget the kids, where'd you get the money and where do I sign up??

🙂

 

[mtxblau]

Something for everyone to look at:

The Phantom isn't vaporware (?)

 

[Gallstaff]

After reading that entire article I've come to one vital conclusion:

The phantom is still crap

 

[antime]

Originally posted by MTXBlau@Aug 25, 2003 @ 03:29 AM

Something for everyone to look at:

Great! That's only the THIRD time that link has been posted, second time in this thread. Now maybe if all users posted that link, maybe someone will actually read it!

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

This is from friday's penny-arcade:

"It really comes down to this: is it a hoax, or are the forces involved in making this system absolutely inept? I'd call that six of one or a half dozen of the other.

Anybody tried to actually submit ther information on the pre-registration screen? It's not a button, it's just a sort vestigial nub with no function.

An interesting mail from Josh Parker, Private Eye:

In my amazing boredom, I researched the status of these trademarks on , but could find no record of either being trademarked. I tried various search methods, never did I see the slogan or the name Phantom trademarked by Infium Labs.

Uh, yeah. Might want to get one of them trademark things.

Steve from HardOCP dropped the following science on me yesterday:

We had a reader go by Infinium Labs and take pictures of their "facility" ( that's when we found out it was a strip mall in the Florida Keys ) only to find out it was a single desk in a 100 x 100ft room with two phones and no furniture. That was about 4 months ago.

I talked to the Tim Roberts guy on the phone when he returned my call ( 22 days after I left a message ) and when I asked him about all this...he HUNG UP ON ME. I asked him if he was looking for investors, he said "We are actively recruiting investors". I asked him if they had any consoles on hand, he said "We have several hundred prototype models here in the office". So then I asked him where the prototypes were made, he said "right here in our facility". Then I told him I had seen his 100ft x 100ft office space conveinently located next to Missing Link Art Gallery in the strip mall ( located at 5380 Gulf of Mexico Dr. Longboat Key, Fl 34228 ) and he went NUTS!!! "WHO THE FUCK IS THIS!?!?! BLAH BLAH I'LL SUE YOU".

Then you have articles like this one on Newsforge that make the whole thing seem sensible! Goddammit, I'm trying to dismiss something here! Stupid journalists. "

Anyone who doesn't know what penny-arcade is should go visit www.penny-arcade.com but I think that article pretty much says it all.

 

[mtxblau]

Ha! That's where I got the link from. 😀 Anyway, sorry antime.

Now, everybody, commit that link to memory!

 

[CrazyGoon]

Phantom propaganda!

 

[Quadriflax]

Debunking the Phantom

Just some more info on this "console."

edit...

for good measure: