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Phantom Goes Software Only
Daysaway writes "Gamasutra is reporting that the Phantom Game Service will be replacing the Phantom Game Console. The company formerly known as Infinium Labs has stated that the Phantom hardware was originally designed to run on a Windows XP platform, so it is not a stretch to believe this service will be launched sometime in the very near future." From the article: "A recent update to Phantom Entertainment's website, though, indicates that 'The Phantom Game Service was originally engineered to run on a Windows XP embedded operating system on a Phantom Game Receiver managed by Phantom content servers over the Internet.' The site now suggests that: 'The Company intends to modify the Phantom Game Service software to run as client software on personal computers operating Windows XP and Windows XP Media center operating systems.'"
...the "Nothing to see here. Move along." message was so appropriate.
Lame. Dead lame. So its going to be like every other pay-to-get-downloaded-games service out there? Except from a known corrupt vapourware company? And, like the others, only run on wintel? Yawn.
Is it just me, or does Valve's Steam already do what PHANTOM is planning to do? Heck XBox Live 360 seems about the same too.
Props to the Phantom guys if they can get others to join them.
IMarv
Trusting software vendors is no smarter than trus
So the Phantom is going to show off his "naughty bits" after casting aside the hardware? :P
...if that isn't a huge smack from a clue-by-four, I'm not sure what else could possibly. The investors for this project are screwed. It doesn't exist, they had no intention of making it exist, it will never exist. The name alone says that.
Somewhere, in some parallel universe, the Phantom Console is capable of running Duke Nukem: Forever at 120fps. And it can provide you all the services of a loving wife.
Informatus Technologicus
But does it run on Linux?
I know I will get modded down, but seriously... any intentions for a port to Linux?
So let me get this straight. A company that has failed to knock together a custom PC that boots CDs despite FOUR YEARS of trying now thinks that they're mogul enough to take the PC World by storm with an online game delivery application (like Steam?) that appears to have little to differentiate itself in the market?
Excuse me while I don't hold my breath in anticipation.
This company has churned through incredible amounts of talent to produce nothing more than press releases about a fancy keyboard and mouse! In that time, Microsoft has launched not one, but TWO separate game consoles that both compete in the exact same space. In that same time, the company was believed to have been a Pump and Dump scheme by the SEC. In that same time, they have never demonstrated an actual working prototype of anything more than their mouse and keyboard!
Excuse me? Could someone please tell me how long it takes to send a manufacturing file out for a custom case, then stuff standard hardware into it? (Don't answer that, it's a rhetorical question.)
I have absolutely no trust in this company, its vision, or its future; and I feel deep sympathy for anyone who has had the displeasure of dealing with them in the past.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Or any games at all, for that matter. Given their previous history, perhaps they could generate enough marketing spin to sell it as a 'content delivery platform for enriched surfing and targeted purchasing opportunities'.
They wouldn't even need to develop anything; just strike a branding deal with Claria (or whatever they're called these days).
First game on their service?
Duke Nukem Forever.
Somehow the con just goes on and on... and somehow there's always a few gullible angels around willing to perpetuate it.
What I love most is the brazen use of word "Phantom" in the name... I mean, why not just call it "Vaporware Console"?
Anyway, here's a better analysis of both the company and of Tim Robert's curious (for lack of a better word) resume history.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
...appropriate console name *EVER*!
a platform on which to run Duke Nukem Forever.
1) Say you're doing something totally fantabulistically amazing.
2) Seduce investors.
3) Do nothing.
4) Do nothing.
5) Do nothing.
6) Do nothing.
7) Do nothing.
8) Spend venture capital on crack and hookers.
9) Do nothing.
10) Declare that instead of doing something totally fantabulistically amazing, you're going to rewrite the same software that dozens of companies already have.
11) Act like this is a simple "desing decision" rather than a total failure of your product.
12) ???
13) Profit!
Le français vous intéresse?
So they will have a subscriber model and need people to connect to their servers to make money. But, crucially, they neither have hardware lock-in to make sure no-one sets up an alternative server to connect to, nor the resources to survive a dragged-out court battle if someone does. I want to be the guy who wrote the server code, has a copy of it all somewhere far away, and walks up to the boss demanding ten times the pay for not doing anything.
blow your mind already
So, basically, Phantom just became a Gametap competitor?
1) market- and trend- breaking console and licensing for game developers
2) game development only
3) Chapter 11 bankrupcy reorganization
4) Chapter 7 bankrupcy liquidation
http://www.3doinfo.com/ is still there, sort of like epitaph.
Be sure not to invest and immediately collect your paycheks/cosulting
checks, like I did with 3DO.
I still occasionally wear my 3DO T-shirt.
Good luck.
Yeah, just after Duke Nuke 'Em Forever launches, right? Seriously, who are these announcements FOR anyway? Is anyone still stupid enough to be investing in this company? Hell, is anyone who HAS invested in them in the past still stupid enough to NOT be suing them at this point?
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
so it is not a stretch to believe this service will be launched sometime in the very near future
Obviously you are not aware of this company's track record if you readily believe they are going to be launching any products anytime soon.
Now I'm wondering how much it'd set me back (beyond a very large amount of time and new learning) to design my own computer case to fit ATX motherboards. With fancy ducting and fan mounts and sliding access bays and panels up the wazoo...
And 6 mention 'duke nukem forever'.
Has anyone pointed out yet that the phantom is an appropriate name for the console?
The Phantom console was intended to make PC gaming easy - it has one set of specs, and was configured from the factory. Combine that with downloadable games, and it was suppoed to be the easiest gaming PC you could imagine.
Now, as an add-on to existing PCs, Phantom becomes a gaming service. No more pre-defined, pre-configured hardware and software...no, they'll have to download the latest video, audio and network drivers, OpenAL and DirectX installs, and then patch and tweak the game to get it "just right."
Not that I'm dissing the PC, I love gaming on the PC, but it does require some knowledge to get certain games running.
Now Phantom is just one of many download gaming services. How, exactly, do they expect to sell enough gaming subscriptions to pay back the millions of dollars they owe creditors, when they're swimming in a pool already filled with big players? Three years ago when the Phantom was announced, the idea of an online PC game delivery service was novel, but now that they've sat on the idea, the world has left them in the dust.
Not like I ever expected anything solid to come out of Phantom. Nice to see them match my expectations.
Man is the animal that laughs.
And occasionally whores for Karma.
Infinium doesn't have a console that it's been "building" for four years (and of which it had previously claimed to have a working model), it sues people who discuss its shady background, and now it's changed its business model to something that can be criticized by a frosh in high school without looking stupid (no games? no copy protection? what?).
My condolences to anyone related to the people running this company, particularly those of you who actually lent them money. To those who actually gave them money expecting a return on investment...oops.
Back a couple of years back, Kyle did a "Sledge-O-Matic" on an engineering prototype of a Phantom.
Yes, they did have hardware- it wasn't anything to write home about. P4 machine, GeForce 4 class
GPU... Nothing more than what Indrema promised and couldn't deliver on. That's not to say the
console's little more than vapor and has been for some time- but it doesn't surprise me that they
had to switch to little more than Steam's offer for all of this. They just couldn't deliver on the
promises they made in a manner that could make money for all parties involved.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
Changing PHANTOM to a gaming service on my computer will be just fine, so long as it works with my Phantom Gaming Keyboard and Mouse setup. That is, as soon as said keyboard setup actually comes to market... /holding-breath
{ - Generic Guy - }
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2006/08 /07/daily13.html
;)
May not mean much to anyone, but I used to work for that company and still have a good friend that works there now. Apparantly they're all super excited about this deal. Times like this I glad I got out of there.
steam *cough*
"Those girls are naughty. They don't wear cases. You can see their bare circuit boards!"
Tim Roberts is a con artist. Its a simple scheme, start a company, blow the initial capital on booze and hookers, declare the company bankrupt, clean up for a month or so and start over with a new company with new investors.
Check out the cave on the east side of lake Hylia. Strange and wonderful things live in it.
It's called Spyware, it gets on my computer and then the game is to remove as much of it with out get more spyware on my computer as I'm actually removing. Then I play it again and again. It's pretty repetative, but in the end you get a real sense of accomplishment, til the next day and then you get a sense of futility.
I'm pretty sure the Underpants Gnomes created this whole thing...PROFIT!
... is being vapor only.
I'll be impressed if what they come out with is even comparable to RealArcade. The GameTap and Steam comparisons are giving it way too much credit. But then... someone managed to make RealArcade exist.
(If anyone else is wondering, it was three-and-a-half screens when I got here.)
Information wants to be free.
Entertainment wants to be paid.
You just want to be cheap.
From vapor(hard)ware to vapor(soft)ware. How sublime*!
:)
*(pun intended
-dZ.
Carol vs. Ghost
Anybody with a really short resume looking for a job at Phantom?
http://www.phantom.net/content/contactUs/careers.h tml:
The fact that they have no actual office, and use Mailboxes Etc as a mail drop, certainly makes the work environment challenging. Another great line:
Why does Phantom have a disclaimer warning investors not to trust what they read about them on the SEC site? It should be reworded: "Phantom cannot guarantee the accuracy and timeliness of any information we file with the SEC", like: Notification of inability to timely file Form 10-Q or 10-QSB, or [Amend]Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities, or Registration Withdrawal Request.
-Don
Take a look and feel free: http://www.PieMenu.com