Kevin Bachus joins Infinium Labs

[Drexel923]

And I was so hoping the Phantom would still be a hoax.

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/475/475929p1.html

[Ed Oscuro]

Aaah, good ol' Bachus, pulling a Yokoi and quitting MS after his own "Virtual Boy," the XBox. Except where Yokoi went on to create the WonderSwan, Bachus is going to work on the Phantom...er, I suppose the machine potentially has a bright future, but from what I can tell he's going to be very busy trying to salvage this situation ("Reader Rabbit" is bad press, really, and their website STILL has it showing up in the titles list...sigh :/)

[portnoyd]

Who? Did he play football in the 70's?

dave

[Ze_ro]

Aaah, good ol' Bachus, pulling a Yokoi and quitting MS after his own "Virtual Boy," the XBox.

Well, I sure hope he's careful to avoid any car accidents...

--Zero

[Flack]

Anyone else catch, "you won't be able to run a browser on it"?

[Oobgarm]

That was an interesting interview. I think that he'll help the company with their image and surprise a few people with the finished system, but I still think that the industry isn't ready for something like this.

It'll be looked upon as the X-BAND of gaming machines. A good idea, but ahead of it's time.

[Querjek]

Aaah, good ol' Bachus, pulling a Yokoi and quitting MS after his own "Virtual Boy," the XBox.

Well, I sure hope he's careful to avoid any car accidents...

--Zero
:( :( :(

We shall remember...



Who? Did he play football in the 70's?

dave
I'm not sure who this is either...

[Zubiac666]

just downloadable games?
first try the demo and then purchase the full game?

omg....sorry but I don't see any future in this
it will take bout a half year after release ,then the first full games will be downloadable via PC on ur Phantom without buying them.
hell,they even cracked the GC and the phantom will be like a dream for hackers

but then again we know nothing about it yet
let's wait and see
:o

[zmweasel]

N/A

[Flack]

Here's the problem. If you have been around computers for a long time (like I have) then you tend to get things stuck in your head, even if they're not true. I always think that computers should cost "around $1000 dollars". That's just not the case. With that mindset, yeah, the Phantom looks like a good idea. Instead of buying a $1,000 computer, you can just get a $300 gaming machine!

The thing is, that's just not true anymore. My dad just bought a 2.4 ghz Dell for $319 (no tax, free shipping). We threw a better video card in it and some RAM, and he's off and running. When you compare that to the Phantom and buying joysticks and memory cards and whatever other accessories you'll need, and I'm guessing the costs would be comparable.

So, let's think about your possible demographics:

#1 - Gameplayers who own a PC. Ok, why would these people buy a Phantom? If your PC doesn't play games great, for $300+ you can get some pretty good upgrades.

#2 - Gameplayers who own other consoles. Again, these people most likely have PCs. So they can play games on consoles AND on their PC. I would think another $300 to already duplicate what they can do twice over would be a tough sell.

#3 - People who don't have a computer or a gaming console. These people might be tempted to buy it, especially kids begging their parents for one. Then when the parents say, "let's spend the extra $100 and get a computer so you can do homework on it too," there's really no argument against that.

#4 - Hackers. People who want to buy one just to take it apart and hack it. I'm probably wrong here, but I think those people are going to go nuts with that Apex box and keep on with the XBox, at least for the time being.

I can't imagine "being able to rent demos at 2 in the morning" is going to be a huge selling point. What's next, it's going to come with dual screens too?*

(* friendly jab)

[Half Japanese]

Aaah, good ol' Bachus, pulling a Yokoi and quitting MS after his own "Virtual Boy," the XBox.

That's right, despite having about 300 more titles, a year and a half longer lifespan (and running) and millions of units sold to date, the Xbox is a failure just like the Virtual Boy. Don't be such a dumbass.

[portnoyd]

Aaah, good ol' Bachus, pulling a Yokoi and quitting MS after his own "Virtual Boy," the XBox.

That's right, despite having about 300 more titles, a year and a half longer lifespan (and running) and millions of units sold to date, the Xbox is a failure just like the Virtual Boy. Don't be such a dumbass.

Ooo. What a scorcher. All I ask before this topic is locked is that someone tell me who this guy is. I *swear* he played football in the past.

dave

[Half Japanese]

Seeing as how SNK is developing for the 'box now, I thought this was appropriate:

http://ee.1asphost.com/drjustinramone/images/hanzowned.jpg

[SoulBlazer]

This IS the future of gaming. I was just saying to friends that within 10 years we'll have a gaming console/computer hooked up to our main TV sets and be able to download games to try them out for a few games. If we don't like them, the files explode. If we do, we pay for them. And the company will send you a CD or you can burn your own.

I agree that this is coming out just a LITTLE too early, though. Wait for broadband connections to become more common and more people to be open to the idea.

Good arguments all around.

I just can't help but wonder, though -- they have been working on this thing for HOW LONG now? At least since 2000? And the hardware is STILL not finished yet? x_x

[Ed Oscuro]

Aaah, good ol' Bachus, pulling a Yokoi and quitting MS after his own "Virtual Boy," the XBox.

That's right, despite having about 300 more titles, a year and a half longer lifespan (and running) and millions of units sold to date, the Xbox is a failure just like the Virtual Boy. Don't be such a dumbass.

Ouch, that stings! It's a bit of a leap of logic, but it needs to be said. XBox is only as much of a success as it is because it's not trying to be as revolutionary as the Virtual Boy (bless Gumpei), has expensive parts, and has a big company willing to blow a good fraction of a billion dollars on it.

So, yeah...whereas Yokoi went off to create a masterful handheld (the WonderSwan would eventually blossom into the WSC, possibly as close to a handheld SNES as we'll ever get), Bachus ditched the company whose product he helped make. I don't pretend that Bachus is supposed to know demographics (though that would help) or have wonderful insights into console design (...), but I am claiming that he helped set the XBox up to fail and left (or was he fired?), leaving others to try and dig the system out of its hole.

Though then there's the story about MS wanting to wait for years to turn a profit on the system. In that case, he's not real good at sticking it out in the trenches, is he?

Whatever the truth really is (and it's probably just that the expertise Bachus brought to the company was no longer needed, though I wonder why not if he claims the XBox 2 is coming out soon), I can say one thing:

It sure says something that a silly and admittedly careless (hey, people don't pay me to post here) comment elicited such a wonderfully scalding (heh) response from yourself. I'm good at sarcasm and snippy commentary, but "dumbass" isn't a part of my vocabulary online.

If I'm a "fanboy" for ridiculing everybody equally, then what are you for getting bent out of shape when I call the XBox a failure?

Nevermind that I want the XBox to succeed in the worst way...anyhow, I'm done. Just think that over, Dr. Ramone :)

[Ze_ro]

This IS the future of gaming. I was just saying to friends that within 10 years we'll have a gaming console/computer hooked up to our main TV sets and be able to download games to try them out for a few games. If we don't like them, the files explode. If we do, we pay for them. And the company will send you a CD or you can burn your own.

This console is definitely before it's time... although most people won't realize that until 10-15 years from now.

I really don't like the idea of not having any physical media though... it may be more convenient to just stream the games into your home, but then what do you do 5 years later when the system becomes obsolete? Or if Infinium goes out of business? Then you're stuck with a machine that will only play whatever games were last loaded on to it.

I guess "casual" gamers won't care... considering all the used games at EB, there must be a ton of people who would probably be happy with this set up, but for us collectors, this whole concept doesn't sit right.

--Zero

[Drexel923]

I really don't like the idea of not having any physical media though... it may be more convenient to just stream the games into your home, but then what do you do 5 years later when the system becomes obsolete? Or if Infinium goes out of business? Then you're stuck with a machine that will only play whatever games were last loaded on to it.

Thats always been one of the reasons I'm against such a machine. Along similiar lines...what would happen if your hard drive gets corrupted. You lose all of your games and then I'm sure you would have to go through hell to prove you bought such games. I don't really care if the method is perfected with this or in the future...I'll stick with physical media, even if I have to go down with it.

I'm not sure how much Bachus is going to help the Phantom, but the Xbox turned out ok when alot of people were skeptical at first. I might be offically worried now.

[SoulBlazer]

Yeah, if you read my note ( ;) ) You'd see that I agree with you. The company would send you a CD with a case and manual if you agree to buy the game. Or you could burn your own with the CD burner attached to it.

This would save companies money because they don't need to print or put out as much as stuff, the service would do well, and gamers would be happy cause you get anything you wanted quickly and easily, and cheaper also. It's win-win all around.

Plus the systemn does'nt have to be closed -- you could easily add on to it.

This IS going to be the wave of the future. It's just too early right now and the Phantom is not the system to do it.

[maxlords]

I don't see this concept as EVER being appealing to me. I like to buy my media physically. I don't like downloadable content, whether it be MP3s, MPGs, ROMs or ISOs. I don't typically use ANY downloadable content for any electronic device I have. And I have no plans to start. If that's the wave of the future, I won't be buying in.

[SoulBlazer]

And what's wrong with getting your physical copy -- the EAXCT same thing that you buy in stores now -- in the mail a few days AFTER you buy it? For no extra cost (if the companies are smart)? That way you could start to play it NOW and get your hard backup soon.

[Ed Oscuro]

And what's wrong with getting your physical copy -- the EAXCT same thing that you buy in stores now -- in the mail a few days AFTER you buy it? For no extra cost (if the companies are smart)? That way you could start to play it NOW and get your hard backup soon.

That would totally kill any profits they hope to achieve.

This is nothing, by the way - eventually, even console hardware (as we think of it, a box you set somewhere) is going to disappear. Games going to download only? Not that big, really.

[Flack]

Ask anyone who bought a Divx player how they feel about the idea.

What if all this instant download software requires talking back to the server to run. And what happens the day the server goes down? What happens if your Phantom dies and you buy a new one -- do they take your word that you paid for all that software and let you redownload it?

[Ed Oscuro]

What if all this instant download software requires talking back to the server to run. And what happens the day the server goes down? What happens if your Phantom dies and you buy a new one -- do they take your word that you paid for all that software and let you redownload it?

The Phantom won't need (shouldn't, anyway, as they've got expoxy on the ROMs) to communicate with a server to start up, or to play a single-player game. However, I can totally see where you're going with this. A bad day on the network would be a bad day for the Phantom, and if the system ever went down...well, it'd be like Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast :/

[ls]

Aaah, good ol' Bachus, pulling a Yokoi and quitting MS after his own "Virtual Boy," the XBox. Except where Yokoi went on to create the WonderSwan, Bachus is going to work on the Phantom...er, I suppose the machine potentially has a bright future, but from what I can tell he's going to be very busy trying to salvage this situation ("Reader Rabbit" is bad press, really, and their website STILL has it showing up in the titles list...sigh :/)


From what I was told, Bachus didn't quit Microsoft, he was canned.

[Packerfan66]

Aaah, good ol' Bachus, pulling a Yokoi and quitting MS after his own "Virtual Boy," the XBox.

That's right, despite having about 300 more titles, a year and a half longer lifespan (and running) and millions of units sold to date, the Xbox is a failure just like the Virtual Boy. Don't be such a dumbass.

Ooo. What a scorcher. All I ask before this topic is locked is that someone tell me who this guy is. I *swear* he played football in the past.

dave
Whats wrong with playing football in the past?

[DigitalSpace]

I don't like this Phantom idea at all, and I'm hoping it's really not going to happen. What's the point of having a console without a nice stack of games next to it on your coffee table while you and your friends are playing it? It may be more convient to download games, but it just isn't the same to me. it's fun going to a store and finding a good deal on a game you want and being filled with the anticipation of playing it on the way home. It won't even be collectible after it's run, how will you get games for it?

Oh yeah, and it's supposed to appeal to people with yearly incomes of $50,000 dollars, not us regular guys. That bothers me too. I can't see a heart in a console aimed to be a rich person's toy.

I'll stick to my Nintendos and Segas and Playstations, thank you. And if this really is the future of gaming, well, I'll just remain a retro gamer for life.

[Cav]

Let's visit the Land of Make Believe and pretend this thing is real and sees the light of day.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't thing just a PC without without a keyboard and cd-rom drive?

It would seem only logical that this thing would be incredibly easy to hack (by people who know how to do such things), attach external drives, keyboard, load a browser, and load any games you want (bought from the store) onto the hard drive.

This would be great news for the classic gaming clan since when this thing tanks you'll be able to pick up a slick gaming machine dirt cheap and play whatever PC titles you want on it. Doom 3 is going to look a lot better on this thing than on a console.

/Return from the Land of Make Believe

-Cav

[calthaer]

And what's wrong with getting your physical copy -- the EAXCT same thing that you buy in stores now -- in the mail a few days AFTER you buy it? For no extra cost (if the companies are smart)? That way you could start to play it NOW and get your hard backup soon.

This system will only become popular once broadband becomes widely available in all areas of the country. With things in America being as spread out as they are, I think this is pretty unlikely within the next 5-10 years.

[SoulBlazer]

Thanks, I thought I said that allready. LOL