More Info on Phantom Game Console

MImeKillEr writes "Newsforge is reporting that the Phantom Game Console discussed on Slashdot is really a DRM-protected PC, sans floppy or CD running Windows XP. It uses a proprietary encryption method to protect the data on its harddrive, and the only thing that differentiates this 'game console' from a standard, Windows-running PC is that it has no way to get data on or off of it except through a dedicated connection to Infinium Labs' own servers." Newsforge and Slashdot are both part of OSDN.

Comments

VIRTUAL ARCADE!

[LiberalApplication]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

It would be fantastic if they could strike up a deal with the proper-owners of arcade boards and titles to set up a system where the Phantom runs a modified version of MAME, and Inifinium Labs' networks provide on-request ROMs to subscribers. Every time you hit "insert quarter", you get charged a nickel. Two cents go to the holder of the copyright, two to Infinium Labs, and one cent to PETA (I just threw that last one in for fun).

It'd be like having an infinitely large arcade in your home, and you wouldn't be doing it illegally. The people who wrote the software will be reimbursed, possibly even twenty five years after they stopped producing that game.

Also, imagine if they implemented something along the lines of Kaillera. You could team up with your kid brother from a thousand miles away to play NARC together, just like you did in high school, at the corner arcade.

Re:weird

[CaptainSuperBoy]

It looks like they are hoping the subscription model and large library will appeal to an untapped market of casual gamers, who might not pony up $50 per game but would happily pay a subscription fee for access to a bunch of games.

Re:Fair use?

[Mysticalfruit]

Fun you should say that...

My wife went out and bought a yoda cd and it wouldn't play in her circa 1992 sony cd player. Ironically, I was able to make a copy of the CD with my phillips burner that then played fine on her stereo.

Moral of the story: copy protected CD's hurt consumers.

Re:Fair use?

[EinarH]

Voting with the wallet is a good thing, but I prefer to vote with my brain. If they are going to sell this below production cost*(like XBox) at a price I find reasonable, I'll but it.
It these people really are so stupid that they tink that the current way of selling consoles is a good business model, well, good luck..

If somene breaks the crypto and DRM in a way that makes it possible to run Linux, well guess what; I'll say fuck their crypto and DRM scheme:
I'm running Linux on *my* box.

*Maybe not, sice they are a uppstart company with less cash to burn off.

Re:Fair use?

[Trolling4Dollars]

Vote with your wallet. It's the quickest way to get a company's attention.

Voting with your wallet almost never works for me because my tastes and ideals differ so greatly from most Americans. You can't say that "voting with your wallet" is really a useful approach for everyone. I think the best approach is to try and educate others why it is that I choose to do things the way I do. If enough people are persuaded to see things the way I see them, then it all works out for the best. (Assuming that they want to do things the way I do them)

The only problem with my approach is that it puts me in the position of being the promoter. I hate being a promoter. But if I want the world to become a slightly better place, the only way to do it is to promote fair views. Kind of sucks in a way.

Re:Fair use?

[rworne]

You know, this method has worked in the past...

Remember the Iopener from Netpliance? The bitty-PC with a built-in LCD that required you to use their proprietary ISP?

Once someone found out how to make it a regular PC, it really put a crimp in their plans. Those units were sold at a significant loss in the hopes of making it up in subscription fees. It later turned out more people were buying it to mod into cheap Linux boxes and MP3 players than to use it for sending email to grandma.