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Phantom Shows Pictures, Pricing, Huang Hire
HawKe writes "Audioholics reports today on details of Infinium Labs' new Phantom Gaming Service which is to be unveiled at this year's E3 in Los Angeles. The service looks to be geared towards a wider demographic rather than the hard core gamer, but for the price of included Phantom hardware (basically free) it appears to be a good compromise - the article explains the PC 'console' is 'free of charge to consumers who sign a two-year contract for a basic subscription to its flagship online gaming service at $29.95 per month. Consumers can also opt to buy this advanced gaming 'receiver' and required accessories without a commitment for $199'." S!: GameDaily also has a feature interviewing Infinium's Kevin Bachus, in which it's confirmed: "Infinium is concerned about protecting its IP and its consumers. To that end, Bachus and Infinium have hired Andrew Huang, the MIT grad student who gained fame for hacking the Xbox."
click-clack, front and back. I'm not moving this car otherwise.
I'm suprised no one else has commented on the new design depicted in the article. They're definitely digital renderings.
So they missed their first proposed launch date, and have since scrapped their origional design entirely, including the box.
Personally, I think they've already got a valid (as per SCO) business model in suing people and providing On-Demand Console (via JPEGs on news sites).
"This is different from a computer? How? There's nothing that would make me buy this, except for possibly the price. If it's as cheap as a GC I might consider ... no. "
I think the idea is that a.) there's a stable platform to develop to as opposed to the barrage of Frankenstein'esque computers causing developers needless hassle. b.) Games are delivered to your computer directly via internet as opposed to buying shrinkwrap stuff at the store.
I doubt this'll change your mind. That wasn't my goal. Simply pointing out that the concept of their business model seems okay enough. I mean, if that $30 a month got you at least one new game a month (no, I haven't RTFA yet) then you'd be ahead of the other systems. Put some cool games on there and you're set.
"Derp de derp."
That's some semi-decent hardware for $199. If the phantom does indeed come out with these specs and price, won't people just take em apart for the guts?
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
Bunny Huang. Seriously, it they are really ready to showcase a nearly finished product, hiring a security specialist at this point in the game to secure your product for your vedors is just silly, its much to late *unless* that security specialist is a high profile figure like Andrew "Bunny" Huang!
I still doubt that the Phantom will ever come to light.
going to infinium press image area you can find the full size images- which are basically uncropped versions that you see from one of the post links.
looking at the mouse shot (and that's an interesting design- the upper case is one piece, and the buttons flex it when pressed) it's definitely photoshopped. somebody else can do all the gamma-type proof, but all it takes is to look at the glow around the cord.
so they might be actual devices- but they probably don't look that purty in the real world, i betcha.
regardless, we'll see in a couple of days.
stored on computers from birth to the grave
As somebody above said, this just looks like a crippled computer.
Is there anything here to be interested in? I'm certainly not excited about playing games only through a subscription service. I want a physical copy of something I own. I want to be able to play my games years after Infinium goes out of business. The only advantage to streaming games over the internet that I can think of is that it saves money on inventory and packaging, and that really isn't an advantage to the consumer unless game prices are lower. Yeah, that'll be the day... CDs were supposed to be cheaper, too. I'm certainly not excited about the games lined up, since I couldn't find any mention anywhere of exactly what titles the damn thing will play. Since Infinium has no first party development, the vast majority of games on the Phantom will already be somewhere else.
So, given those disadvantages, why would anyone want to own this thing? To have a cheap PC? The X-Box already does that better.
At 29.95/month, whether to buy the Phantom will be rationalized as follows for most families:
Broadband internet, cell phone, digital cable/satellite TV, Tivo, other on-line games (XBox Live, misc. PC games, etc.), OnStar, telephone extras (e.g., Caller ID), brand-name groceries, new TV/computer/stereo, new furniture, new lawnmower, etc.
Okay, for this year, pick three or four.
Simply, most families cannot afford to both get new living-room furniture, for example, and get a good cell phone plan and subscribe to the Phantom service all at the same time and stay financially stable with at least some savings. Think about it: $29.95/mo. is $360/year on top of initial costs. I know I spend less than $150/year on PS2 games cause I'm about as cheap as people get; IMO, Phantom is competing with other luxuries like digital cable or broadband internet (yes, middle America, these things are luxuries).
Vote in November. You won't regret it.
Have you noticed the phantom has so many announcements it looks like they actually WIN money each time they get their name mentioned? Well curious as it sounds THEY DO make money. Phantom is a public investor company so each time you hear anything about the phantom more investors are attracted and flock to Infinium Labs. Investors dont want to hear about games or exactly why the product is any good (hype). They just want to know when it will be out (aproximately) and how much money will they make. And if you check the announcements every single one mentions those two aspects and not a single one detail that would entice a gamer to buy it (it will have great graphics, X game is coming for it) . Makes you wonder doesn't it?
Go ahead MOD my day!
More opinions here
I have some concerns about the price of this service. Infinium claims that their audience ranges "from the avid gamer to the casual player" but what casual player is going to spend $29.95 per month on gaming?
I consider myself to be a bit more than a casual player (but not much more) and I don't currently spend $29.95 per month on gaming. That's $359.40 per year! I spend about $30 - $40 every two months on games and I spend an average of $100 per year on hardware upgrades to keep new games running. That's still cheaper ($280 - $340 per year, usually right at $300) and I'm getting harware upgrades on my PC that tend to boost the system's overall performance.
The hardware that the Phantom is spec'd at looks good now but it isn't out yet and it has to last two years after it comes out for it to be "free." The math just doesn't add up for me.