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DISCover 'Drop And Play' PC Games For ApeXtreme Discussed
Thanks to GameSpot for their interview with Loren Kaiser regarding his company's DISCover software system that "aims to let users play PC titles on televisions as though they were console games." He discusses licensees of the technology that include the recently announced ApeXtreme PC 'console', though comments: "We don't like to use the term 'licensing' because we provide a BIOS chip that contains portions of the software. They're also getting our database of scripts, and several programs that work together that we call the DISCover engine." He also touches on example games such as Battlefield 1942, where the DISCover system makes it so "you put in [the] Battlefield [CD, and] the game starts right up." As for optional upgrades and add-ons, he says: "We'll handle the patches. As far as the mods, we'll just work with the mods that hit critical mass, the major ones."
That means you 640x480 resolution with free full screen anti-aliasing!
to stop hearing about that Phantom console and all of its associated vaporocity.
In seriousness though, if this ApeXtreme makes it so I don't have to blow all my money updating to that latest graphic FUBAR 5000XZ chip every time a new game comes out, it's definitely worth checking out. Especially if it's real, unlike the Phantom.
"Isn't this what 3D0 tried... and failed miserably at? "
No, and no.
The 3DO was not a rebuild of an existing system. It was a game console, albeit an expensive one. This is a PC that plays PC games, but designed to hook up to the TV.
And no, 3DO did not fail miserably at it. The 3DO never attained the popularity of anything made by Nintendo, Sega, or Sony, but it was still a reasonably succesful system. (Modest is a word I would use strongly, here.) Want to talk about failures? Look at Jaguar or Virtual Boy.
I realize that success is a relative term, but that thing was around like 3 years and has a decent library of games.
"Derp de derp."
How Are The Scripts Updated?
Each time a new PC game is launched or about to be launched, your DISCover(R) console will use an Internet or phone connection to pull down the new script/s. It's a bit like the TiVo(R) model.
Obviously, it must learn how to properly execute stuff, but I really don't like this idea. Not like there is any sensitive data or anything, or at least, there better not be, but there is potential for a dick to hose your system through script replacement.
When I tell an object to delete this, am I killing it or telling it to kill me?
"obviously we have different definitions of "miserable failure" "
Perhaps. However, since you didn't elaborate, we won't really be able to discuss that, will we?
In any case, 3DO was successful enough that they started developing the M2, the successor to the 3DO. They were far enough along that they were paid a ridiculous amount of money by Matsushita (well over $100,000,000) for the technology. Sadly, the project faded away after that. My guess is that the Playstation made Matsushita reconsider entering the market.
Being a 3DO owner was sort of like being a Mac owner. It had it's own niche of neat stuff. Shelves were full of games, and they were all very different from what the SNES was doing. True, you weren't likely to bump into another 3DO owner on the street. But it was a very unique system, and a lot of fun to have.
"Derp de derp."
Except that unlike Microsoft, I don't think DISCover or the licensees care. They're not selling these at a loss and then making money on the games. They're just trying to make money on the consoles.
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The ______ Agenda
Here is the link to the DISCover PC Console web site:
http://www.discoverconsole.com
I noticed this interesting blurb in their "about" section:
"DISCover(R) technology is protected by U.S. Patent No. 5,721, 951: a "home entertainment system for playing software designed for play in home computers." No one can manufacture a game console that plays PC games without infringing on this patent."
Will the Phantom, if it ever gets released, be infringing upon this patent? It seems rather silly to me since the DISCover *is* a computer so therefore any other computer that plays games on a TV (which I believe they mean when they say "home entertainment system") is potentionally infringing on their patent. Seems rather dubious to me.
The major problem with playing computer games on a TV is that they are designed to be displayed with a nice crystal clear screen (monitor). Put them on a TV screen (try plugging your TV into your graphics cards TV out) and on all but hi-res TV with non-composite input, it's really damn hard to see text (usually games display them too small). Been there, done that.