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Games Entertainment Technology

Infinium May Have Content Partners 62

Posted by Zonk from the silver-lining-on-a-bank-of-thunderheads dept.
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.
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Infinium May Have Content Partners More

Infinium May Have Content Partners

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  • 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!"

  • Who do they have in PR? (Score:5, Funny)

    by cephyn ( 461066 ) on Thursday September 23, 2004 @06:08PM (#10334798) Homepage
    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?

  • Wake me up... (Score:1, Redundant)

    by hejog ( 816106 ) *
    when they have Doom 3, Half Life 2 and Duke Nukem Forever. Sniggger. :)

  • Details? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Bastian ( 66383 )
    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.

    • Re:Details? (Score:4, Funny)

      by superpulpsicle ( 533373 ) on Thursday September 23, 2004 @06:31PM (#10335037)
      Woh buddy hold up. This is Phantom we are talking about. I was thinking more or less games like "Ascii Susan". Who ever said anything about the hardware being good enough to run pac man.

    • Re:Details? (Score:3, Informative)

      by MBCook ( 132727 )
      I agree. Chronic Logic made Gish, Pontifix I & II, and some puzzle game. They're a nice company (I own two of their games), but they are hardly a big name console launch partner unless they have something big up their sleeve. Interplay? What have they done big in the last few years? Nothing stands out for me. They also have Vivendi. Same kind of things.

      This list is all small publishers and left-overs. Where is EA, Sega, Rockstar, Activision, etc? Where are the companies with recent, big games? Where ar

      • "Oh, they also have Vivendi."
        Oh, you mean the people who own Valve and Blizzard?
        Nothing big has come out of either of those two studios that I can remember.. really!

        • Re:Details? (Score:1, Redundant)

          by MBCook ( 132727 )
          OK, you found a flaw. Great point. Still, that gives them HL2 and WC3. Those are already on PC (or will be in the HL 2 case) so why should I buy a console that requires a monthly fee to play it?
          • Well, you could consider the fact that it might not be marketed towards the average slashdot reader, not everything is. I for one don't have a PC that can play HL2, and I love the idea of being able to buy games without getting up off my ass.

            • Re:Details? (Score:2, Funny)

              by Anonymous Coward
              I love the idea of being able to buy games without getting up off my ass.

              You can already do that via Amazon. The hard part is getting off your ass to go pick 'em up out of your mailbox. It's this 9-meter trek that Infinium is trying to save you from.
          • Why would anybody pay a monthly fee to RENT movies when you can buy them? Yet Blockbuster and Netflix still thrive. Isn't this the same sort of plan?

            Such a scheme would be nice for some people. Not that I think that Infinium can deliver. It has already taken them two years to deliver hardware that a dedicated modder could make in two weeks.

            But the idea still makes sense for a certain type of customer -- if the price is right.
          • For those who would care to read the Phantom materials before making comments, the Phantom is not a "game console". It is a service that delivers new games every month in the base subscription price as well as news, forums, media, etc.

            The Phantom will only play games that can run on a PC, so why ask about console only companies like Sega? Wouldn't it be nice to play your big fat PC game on your big screen in the living room, with all of the latest patches automatically installed and always kept up to dat
          • I'm not trying to get YOU to buy it, I'm trying to say that there is some worth in it in general. I'm willing to bet that both of OUR PCs will play HL2 fine, but I wouldn't assume that the average person's would.

            Besides, the point of your post was the lack of well known games and game companies, not this. I just wanted to let you know that it wasn't quite as plain as it reads in TFA.
      • As far as I know, the entire concept of the Phantom is that it makes PC games run like a console.

        So, saying that you don't want games that are already on the PC leaves them with...well, nothing.
      • it's a freakin' x86-based windows box [infiniumlabs.com]... and you don't want PC games on it?

        So what are they going to release then?

    • Back off Commander Keen man, that game was freakin awesome.

      All of them actually, except the last one.

    • Get your details (Score:5, Informative)

      by MachDelta ( 704883 ) on Friday September 24, 2004 @04:40AM (#10338204)
      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. :)

  • what return will there be? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by spir0 ( 319821 ) on Thursday September 23, 2004 @06:24PM (#10334963) Homepage Journal
    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 real story on the games (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Artifex ( 18308 ) on Thursday September 23, 2004 @06:40PM (#10335114) Journal
    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.
    • Do we at least get to keep the content, or does it disappear if we don't pay the bill?
      I believe you don't, which is a shame. Given the cost of used PC games, you can probably buy (or download) most of the old ones cheaper than buying a Phantom.

  • Console gamers. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by BrookHarty ( 9119 ) on Thursday September 23, 2004 @06:52PM (#10335224) Journal
    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.

    • Re:Console gamers. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Cyno01 ( 573917 ) <Cyno01@hotmail.com> on Thursday September 23, 2004 @06:56PM (#10335268) Homepage
      Uh, people have issues with Infinium because they've files lawsuits against people saying pretty much what every comment to this story has said. They seem to want to offer all the advantages of a hacked X-box w/ a hard drive, but you still have to pay for games. Not sure if thats a niche that needs to be filled.
    • I knew if I said something good about Infinium it would be marked overrated, even if it is on-topic. Only jokes about how much they suck get modded up.
    • 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 i
      • "These aren't a bunch of hardcore gamers in a garage with a great vision."

        As opposed to Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo...
        • As opposed to Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo...

          Hey - I'm not saying they're charities. But if you look at the people in charge of the gaming divisions in each of those companies, they really are people who are gaming enthusiasts. I can't cite specific individuals at Sony just because I'm less aware, but the people in Microsoft who are convinced Gates to fund the Xbox are definitely these visionary-gamer-type-people (Allard, Blackley, and now people like Lobb).

          Nintendo you probably shouldn't have inclu
          • but the people in Microsoft who are convinced Gates to fund the Xbox are definitely these visionary-gamer-type-people (Allard, Blackley, and now people like Lobb)

            Uuummmmmmmm....Kevin Bachus is the President of Infinium Labs now. So how can he be a hardcore game visionary at Microsoft but not at IL?
            • So how can he be a hardcore game visionary at Microsoft but not at IL?

              Easy. With the Xbox, Bachus didn't need a job. He already had a very secure position within MS. He risked more by pushing the Xbox within MS than if he'd just shut up and continued to work on DirectX. I can't say why he went with Infinium exactly, but he was unemployed. Before that, he was part of the rather placid and failed CEG. Now, Infinium pretty much has him doing their dirty work [gamespot.com]. Short of some E3 evangelism and threats
    • We ditch on them because they have a nebolous business plans that smells fishy to many. And ignorante people are investing money on them, and when they find out they were robed blind, they will blame the videogame industry, and the industry will be hurt.

      That money invested on the phantom could have been better invested on small indie developers to bring them to the big arena. (like the guys that made pontifex, instead of having them supporting the phantom, and thus just gaining ridicule and a stain on thei
    • I agree. Everyone loves to diss them, but nobody knows any details yet. I was called by them for a potential job a few months back regarding testing. I questioned them about how they think the company will do, and the guy told me they are after the crowd that has turned console from PC, but still want the big screen and big sound experience. They will have top of the line hardware, and it looks like they may have some decent games as well. Yes I said MAY, still to be seen. But the guy I talked to droppe

  • Phantom console, phantom service? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by thirty2bit ( 685528 ) on Thursday September 23, 2004 @07:04PM (#10335335)
    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.
    • I recently moved to an area where I can no longer get service for my GSM mobile phone, but I'm not going to go around saying that the world isn't ready for mobile phones...

      Personally, I'm ready for on-demand content. I have high-speed internet access, and the nearest place that has a good selection of games to buy is like an hour away. So I can either drive an hour to find out that everywhere is sold out (Fable), or didn't get the game in the first place (Gradius), or I can just download the game to
      • Mobile phones - sure, I can't get Sprint service unless I go stand by the highway. Same problem though: the 'system' isn't ready.

        There is no current high-speed, relible, global architecture with any measure of consistency that can properly support an on-demand system requiring high bandwidth.

        Cable is available at my house, not at my friend's house that is five miles away, though he does have DSL. If you go another 10 miles in the same direction, another friend has cable but on a different system, but n
        • It's not fractured or patchwork, because it's all built on top of the internet. Sure it's not available in all areas, but neither is mobile phone service, and around here it's easier to get internet access than a signal on your phone.
    • Not only do you have to rent the games, you also have to pay a set amount for the game. I'm not sure the pricing structure but I'd assume its gonna be comparable to regular games at $50. No thanks.
    • Agreed. I want to own my games. I don't care if they have the best developers and the best games in the world... I still won't buy a Phantom. Even if it was Nintendo or Sony trying this idea, I still wouldn't buy it.

      Of course, that's even assuming that the Phantom is a real product. The whole thing sounds like a scam to me.
  • Found this article.. There have been a lot of people that have called the whole thing a hoax, whether it is because of the position of the system or because of the name. The creators say go ahead and speculate but stop laughing. The Phantom is a real thing and looks to revolutionize video gaming providing real-time game purchasing, game rental and try before you buy all on demand.

    "Being a gamer, there is no two ways about it," says Dale Eldridge, Vice President of Infinium Labs. "You'll have CDs that get

  • Infinium has a new content partner, and his name is SCO.
  • Infinium Labs introduces it's newest software development partner:

    VaporWare

    :rimshot:
  • I think it's probably a no brainer that many developers would love the idea of digital content distribution. With it, they could eliminate many of the middlemen, and get more profit for themselves. No need for CD pressing, manual printing, publishing costs, etc. Publishers would be out of luck and out of business, unless they were used strictly for marketing.

    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 i

    • Consoles are generally produced and sold at a loss, with the intent of recouping the losses through licensing fees.

      *Sigh* Will this old myth please die already? Microsoft is the only company that followed this with the XBox and it's because they could not control part fabrication (i.e. hard drives, GPU, CPU). Nintendo is profitable from DAY ONE on ALL of their hardware. Same with PS2 (In Japan, the US cost them some $$$ due to fabrication issues but was back being profitable on hardware inside of 6
      • The myth might die sooner if you'd include some proof backing up your claim. I've already heard that consoles maker lose out on production of their systems, at least initially. And I'm not talking about hearing it from my brother's sister's cousin's barber. I read about it on sites specializing in gaming news, magazines, etc. How does Microsoft have any less control over part fabrication than other console makers? Granted they're using a setup similar to PCs in architecture, but I would think that woul

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