An interesting read regarding the new Phantom console

[Oobgarm]

I was checking out the Penny Arcade news post from Friday and I saw that they had a write up on a presentation of the new Phantom game console.

Check it out here:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/phantom.php3

[Chunky]

I’m sorry but the more I hear about this the more I think it will be a spectacular failure. And that i wish i had the BSing ability to bilk a couple of million out of investors, live the highlife, then move on when the money goes dry. Just a shit salesman with a mouth full of samples. I don't want to bash what i cannot hold in my hands and play, but what am i supose to believe now, or every other time i hear about this?

[Ed Oscuro]

Hmm, at the start of that article I thought "Penny Arcade really isn't in the swing of things (i.e. yes there are a number of alpha units, but do I know how many? I've just seen a photo of one steel box for an early prototype) but boy would I have been wrong to skip that article.

Covering ROMs in glue??? I...yuck, that's not very good, especially if you're going to run your Phantom for long periods of time.

As for the hardware specs...I'm now wondering whether the technical details like bus speeds, RAM speed, or coprossecor devices are actually not a part of the design...which would be a complete shame since, even if you're running at TV resolution, you have to make up the performance difference somehow. (The article, now that I look again, spells out very clearly that


There really is the impression that the Phantom is just a PC in a box ... Even the XBox, the first to receive "PC in a Box" status, still has specialized hardware devices just for the type of processing games need. None of that sort of technology was mentioned in the meeting.

[Gamereviewgod]

Until I see one in action, I won't bite that they'll follow through. Come on, have a press a confrence and you won't even boot one up? Lame. Oh, and glue??????? LOL

[Oobgarm]

My favorite part of the article was when they covered the topic of the gamers themselves:


"So, I have all my consoles at home, and I have a very powerful PC that plays lots of games and can be upgraded simply by installing new hardware myself. Why would I want to buy a Phantom?"


"Well then you aren't really part of the Phantom's core user base."


"See, you people say you have enough consoles, and a powerful PC, but whenever a new console comes out, you people always buy it."

Those comments destroyed any and all positive inclinations I had about the system.

Not that I really had any to begin with, but that would have destroyed them.

[Ed Oscuro]

Yes, that was really...awful. That quote's going down in history, I assure you that.

Easy answer to it, too: "Sure we buy all the consoles, just like the N-Gage."

[chadtower]

Duh! Most of us WILL buy an Ngage... 4 months from now when they're in the clearance bin for $40.

[SoulBlazer]

I've been saying for months this is'nt a hoax. I'm still not convienced it's ever coming out to market, though. I just don't see why people would WANT one if it does'nt have any unique games, they have a PC and several consoles, and there's no savings.

[zmweasel]

Wow. That article is pure comedy gold. Investing in the Phantom is like investing in a perpetual-motion machine, hoping to get rich off something that the very laws of the universe will never allow to work.

You guys have already read the article about the dubious business history of the Phantom's "creators," eh? http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NTEy

-- Z.

[Nature Boy]

I think the concept of a physical alteration to the games that can't be easily hacked through software is an interesting one.

Whether glue is usuable or not due to overheating (as has been mentioned) remains to be seen.

This quote though:
"See, you people say you have enough consoles, and a powerful PC, but whenever a new console comes out, you people always buy it."

Remind me again why Sega doesn't still make the Dreamcast? Even though us people always buy these things?

[Dobie]

You guys have already read the article about the dubious business history of the Phantom's "creators," eh? http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NTEy


Wow. After reading that article, one REALLY has to question this thing. He sounds more like a corporate criminal than anything else. Worldcom is not a company you want to have on your resume...wait! He removed it from his resume. I'm sorry! I should say falsification of your resume is not something you want to have on your resume.

Having a company with his MOTHER, and naming himself director of that company is priceless too. It gives me an idea...

From here on out, I'm Director/CEO of Dobie's Game Consoles. I am creating an exciting, new way of playing video games. Give me money so I can be proactive in this venture. Dobie's Game Consoles, along with Infinium Labs, is a leader in the corporate fraud industry. In fact, Dobie's Game Consoles plans on having $200 million dollars in capital by the year 2005. We also plan on having a working protoype of a perpetual motion machine by next year. So invest in the future of gaming. Dobie's Game Consoles. Where Gamers Go Get Games. TM

[Sylentwulf]

Here's my favorite one :)

"One attendee asked if these savings would pass down to the consumer-- considering the "3 to 5 dollars" per game packaging costs and the ten to twenty dollars spent paying the store would be saved, games could be offered to a user at a lower price. Well, no, says Rob."

[Rev. Link]

Yeah, Phantom scares me.

And what's with the "you people" stuff? I thought Phantom was supposed to be "for gamers, by gamers". You people?? What an ass.

[Ed Oscuro]

You guys have already read the article about the dubious business history of the Phantom's "creators," eh? http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NTEy

-- Z.

The folks over at Invision claim those companies were run into the ground after Tim left them in healthy condition and that the informant for the article was a "disgruntled" person. I can't say either way, but they're sticking to their guns about this and insist that it's false.

[Charlesaway]

Regardless of the market outcome of this 'console' I really think at the very least, that few if any of us will be interested in it. I'm still on that have to own the game with packaging mindset myself, and I don't want to change that.

[lendelin]

Wow. That article is pure comedy gold. Investing in the Phantom is like investing in a perpetual-motion machine, hoping to get rich off something that the very laws of the universe will never allow to work.

You guys have already read the article about the dubious business history of the Phantom's "creators," eh? http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NTEy

-- Z.

That's a very interesting article! Months ago when I heard about the Phantom and it was discussed I had the feeling something isn't right, the entire concept didn't seem economically thought-through; my first impression back then was "this is high-risk taking, wow." This thing didn't stand on solid feet in the first place, and with the information the article delivers, there is a BIG ? behind this product, to say the least.

It will be very interesting to see what comes out of it, probably not much or nothing at all.

[Oobgarm]

Wow. That article is pure comedy gold. Investing in the Phantom is like investing in a perpetual-motion machine, hoping to get rich off something that the very laws of the universe will never allow to work.

You guys have already read the article about the dubious business history of the Phantom's "creators," eh? http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NTEy

-- Z.

Wow, even though I know it was not the intention, the article you linked was pretty damn funny. Numerous failed high dollar business ventures, sketchy information regarding work history, and now little/no information about this new machine?

Someone ought to check their pants, because I smell shit.

I hope this thing dies before it gets out of the gate. :o