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Infinium May Have Content Partners
eToychest writes "In a move that indicates the video game industry is embracing digital distribution as a vehicle to expand the market, more than 20 game publishers have signed on to supply titles for the Phantom Game Service." Their previously reported financial status is undoubtedly still an issue, though.
I just envision somewhere some game developers jumping back into the middle of the street, in full street hockey gear a la Wayne and Garth, and saying "Game on!"
I mean honestly...who in the world can say "Phantom Game Service" with a straight face? Are they really that oblivious to the obvious pun?
Moo.
Did anyone else read that as "Infinium may have Content Partners" as in "Infinium may have happy, satisfied partners" --- and subsequently chuckle?
Moo.
when they have Doom 3, Half Life 2 and Duke Nukem Forever. Sniggger. :)
Maybe I need to take the time to go to Infinium Labs's site, but otherwise this article doesn't really wow me. Those 20 developers could be a bunch of firms that don't have any hit games under their belts (or on the stove). Those 25+ games on the greatest games of all times list probably include such cutting-edge soon-to-be hits as DOOM, Commander Keen, Warcraft, and Pac-Man.
I'll get excited when they can drop names like Sega and Valve and mention games like DOOM 3 and Warcraft 3.
what return will the investors get? considering so much money has been spent on building a shell for a PC, how many subscribers will be needed over how long a period before the investors start seeing a return back? let alone when the company will start actually turning a profit.
After all that's been said and done, even if the Phantom DOES eventuate and some games DO start to come out, there is no way in hell I would consider getting one. The company just seems too flaky and dishonest.
Are you going to give them your credit card details?
Are you going to pay for a one year subscription in advance only to have the realise their folly 3 months through and close up shop?
For the record, I buy pretty much every game console that comes out, regardless of how much the company suck. Yes, I even have an Xbox and I thoroughly enjoy it.
But I'm way too paranoid to buy anything from Infinium Labs or whatever they may change their name to in the future to avoid bad press.
The reason girls and Windows users don't understand UNIX is because all the documentation is in Man files.
The article mentions 500 titles, including 1/2 of the top 50 PC games ever. In other words, at least some of these are not brand-new games. My question at this point would be, why would I want to pay for a crippled PC that requires a monthly service, just to bring me retreads of old games? Do we at least get to keep the content, or does it disappear if we don't pay the bill? At least the XBox has new titles, and I don't have to pay any monthly fee unless I want XBox Live. I'll probably buy an XBox soon enough so I can chip it for use as an extra, Replay-streaming media center, but I haven't rushed to buy it, yet.
Get off my launchpad!
Anyone play Q3A on a console? Exactly, it begs for a keyboard and mouse. Now, at 640x480, I think most games would run just fine on a pc->console conversion.
I don't know why everyone keeps dissing on Infinium, it takes time to get a startup going, and lots of money. They keep working at it, getting content providers, getting the prototype working, games working on it, problems solved, closer to launch.
And still, you give them no credit. These guys are not SCO or Microsoft, we shouldnt be treating this startup like criminals.
I personally think its a great idea, bringing the PC into the living room. Same thing Microsoft is trying to do with its home PC boxes.
When you get a PC in the living room, the choices are endless on what you can do, all types of entertainment media and communications.
Just imagine if people told Linus, stop it, Minix is all we need.
We are a society that builds on other peoples work, even if they fail, our society grows on experience. Glad there are people still trying after the whole dotbomb days. Make it or not, this is a interesting idea.
I still have reservations paying a monthly charge to 'rent games' regardless of how many publishers or titles they have signed on. And I own seven Porche GT3's, each a different color. But only on the Internet.
If Microsoft nixes the Xbox (are they still losing money on hardware / Xbox overall?) tomorrow, I can still drop discs in and play them next week. If I lose my broadband or (gasp!) move to an area without high-speed internet, I can still use my Xbox. My Xbox can't be remotely hacked, DOS'd, and won't need monthly security patches.
It's not time for a "on demand" content model yet.
Unfortunately the only way they can servive the already saturated gaming industry is if they can provide exclusive content.
If you could only play GTA: San Amdreas on the Phantom, wouldn't you consider purchasing one?
Its possible the Phantom will play PC games, which could be a huge plus. If they could advertise Half Life as Phantom Console excluve then that could help boost sales exponentially.
I for one hope they succeed.
Is it now required that at every mention of Infinium Labs, someone has to make the DNF Joke? Who thinks it's still funny?
Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
"Being a gamer, there is no two ways about it," says Dale Eldridge, Vice President of Infinium Labs. "You'll have CDs that get scratched that will no longer work and you have to front the cost to buy the same game multiple times. And you buy a system, the developer upgrades it, you can't play the game you have before on the same proprietary console, and then your little cheap $200 consumer item breaks because it is only a toy. The most frustrating is the titles only appeal to the 8-18 year olds and don't offer the genres and title selection which appeals to the 3-38 year olds which is 80% of the market today. It's frustrating. So what we've designed is a real machine with a hassle free service allowing you a infinite selection of gaming content. You no longer have to spend your time as an IT person. It can be in your living room, it can be easy to use, it is built for the hardcore horsepower driven gamer, it can appeal to all audiences, it can be convenient, and it can be FUN!'"
One of the interesting things, Tim Roberts (CEO and founder) noted is that other consoles are just PC's with Proprietary Operating Systems which actually raise the cost of games, since they have to be re-written to adapt to these consoles. He also stated that the proprietary consoles have "built themselves into a box"; this means that they have to purchase huge volumes of parts in order to achieve the economies of scale. This also ties them into the same technology for 5 years since they have produced tied up enormous amounts of there cash and don't want to obsolete themselves.
Roberts explained that the Beta tester requests were very successful. With over 28k applications on file to date we have collected some very resourceful testers which can help fine tune our product. We are planning on distributing emails to the 300 lucky testers on Sept 15th which will announce who has been selected. We will then shift gears and open beta tester requests for Europe, Asia, Mexico and Australia, as well as others. We are looking for the best, the elite hard core gamers and also the top hackers and crackers out there. We will be sending the United States and Canada beta testers consoles to them on Sept 15th. The beta testers will need to sign an agreement to provide 1 year worth of testing for us and commit to provide feed back to us regarding the service. They will be allowed to keep the equipment and games but will have to pay there own broadband access fees. We will be looking for 300 testers in each country, not just the United States and Canada.
We plan to launch our service in Europe and Asia in Q1 2005.
Unlike the other current-generation systems on the market today, all costing under 200 bucks, the Phantom looks to do something that no other video gaming console has done before. The Phantom is the most robust, upgradeable console which provides a better entertainment package and will drive down the cost of games to the consumers.
"The consumer who enters the market earlier is obviously going to pay the price," says Roberts. "The people who bought the first generation of Tivo ended up having to pay a little more. And there are going to be people who will wait thinking that second generation product will be cheaper, faster and better. But our console is upgradeable, provides a refurbish program and also there are people who are willing to come in early and adopt the product and help launch our service. As we build our subscriber base, the consumer monthly service fee goes down offset by our economies of scale. But the most dramatic change to that is when the advertising revenue is achieved; consumers are predicted to spend 7 times mo
AdsJunction.com Ad Network
Just imagine if people told Linus, stop it, Minix is all we need.
Look. You're talking about gamers here. Gamers. These are guys (and a few girls) that drool over screenshots in magazines. They buy games before reviews come out. They have an innate enthusiasm for all things gamey. These are guys that - even after three or four duds - will still buy a game from a certain studio or developer. They'll pay upwards $30 for 4 new levels. In other words: you have to work to make gamers cynical.
And if anyone has worked at it, it's Infinium. Not only have they demonstrated a complete and utter lack of understanding when it comes to gamers and games, but they go as far as to sue gamers when they start saying bad things about them. And it's not that gamers were dead set against the Phantom. For example, this article clearly shows that people have wanted to believe in the Phantom, but Infinium has kept giving gamers reasons not to believe them.
I've seen nothing of Infinium that says, "We get to make money for making games? What a deal!" These are not artists here, BrookH. These aren't a bunch of hardcore gamers in a garage with a great vision. There is no art or design here. It's just the opposite. If there was any beachfront property left in Florida, Infinium would be busier buying that instead of making a video game console. Myths like "bigger sales than Hollywood" give the perception that gaming is the new dotcom. As far as I can tell, Infinium is just trying to get in while they can, or at least some property in Florida opens up.
You're welcome to show me otherwise.
Infinium has a new content partner, and his name is SCO.
Infinium Labs introduces it's newest software development partner:
:rimshot:
VaporWare
this persons speak the "common sense" of which I have been hearing so much!
/.?
Where is the bias? Can this honestly be a reasoned opinion on
Out of curiosity, I visited all of the publishers websites to look for interesting or recognizable (to me) game titles. Here's what I found (not sure if its all accurate but it should be close):
:)
21-6 Productions - crap
BraveTree - crap
Chronic Logic - Pontifex 1 & 2 (if anyone remembers that neat little demo)
Codemasters - Operation Flashpoint 1 & 2, IGI 2, Colin McRae Rally, TOCA, Dragon Empires,
Dreamcatcher Interactive - Painkiller
eGames - Raptor, Demonstar (loved those old shooters!), otherwise crap
Eidos - Thief, Dues Ex, Hitman, Legacy of Kain, Tomb Raider, Commandos, Blood Omen; series'
Enlight Interactive - X2: The Threat, Seven Kingdoms 1 & 2, Warlords Battlecry 3
Framework Studios - Crap
GamerBlitz - Crap
Gameware Development - Creatures
GarageGames - Crap, other than the Torque engine licenses
Global Software Publishing - Crap (educational/kids games)
Interplay - Fallout, Freespace... oh hell, does it matter? Aren't these guys bankrupt anyways? Their website doesn't even fucking work, who cares!
Kuma Reality Games - Some AA wannabe called Kumawar
Legacy Interactive - Crap
Max Gaming - Crap (Moon Tycoon anyone?)
O-3 Entertainment - Crap (GTA wannabe)
Riverdeep (aka Broderbund) - Crap (educational)
Skunk Studios - Crap
Vivendi Universal Games - AvP 2, Bard's Tale, CS:Z, Crash Bandicoot, Half-Life series, LOTR, NOLF 1 & 2, Simspons Hit n Run, SWAT 3 & 4, Diablo series, DAoC, Warcraft 3, Starcraft, Middle-Earth Online, WoW, Ghost Master, Empire Earth series, Ground Control series, Homeworld 2
Atari Inc - Civilization series, Driver series, Deer Hunter series (groan), Independence War, RollerCoaster Tycoon, Unreal Tournament series, Enter the Matrix, Wheel of Time, Unreal 2, Moo3, NWN series, Mechwarrior 3
So the only 'real' publishers they have are Atari (kinda), VUG, and Eidos. Add Interplay if they aren't actually dead yet (again? still? whatever). Codemasters, Enlight, and Dreamcatcher might be capable of publishing something decent too, I suppose.
All things considered though, it isn't a very impressive lineup. Their three big names are heavily into other consoles - I suspect their involvment here is just a continuation of their diversification strategy. So the chances of Phantom having a big hit/exclusive (Halo, Mario, etc) are pretty much nil. I mean, unless the Phantom intends to corner the market on educational software, i'm guessing this little ghosty is gonna get pounded into a very, very small niche by the competition.
But we'll see. I intend to sit back and watch the fireworks, whatever they may be.
However, in the typical business model structure, I'm not sure I see it happening. Consoles are generally produced and sold at a loss, with the intent of recouping the losses through licensing fees. Although they could still charge these fees for digital content distribution, I can't see them charging as much. Some companies, like Nintendo, even insist on creating consoles that require proprietary media, another sneaky way to get some extra cash.
Add to that the fact that everyone still does not have broadband, and casual gamers that impulse buy at Walmart make up a large portion of the overall market, I can't see this becoming the only way any console ever sells its games.
And doing it both ways is probably going to be equally as challenging. If you still rely on the old fashioned way of distribution, you're going to need a publisher. And no publisher worth their salt is going to let you get away with also selling the game through digital content channels without taking just a big piece of the cut. Look at Valve's Steam and VU's lawsuits and spats.