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PC Games (Games) Entertainment Games

DISCover 'Drop And Play' PC Games For ApeXtreme Discussed 37

Posted by simoniker from the my-console-mixed-up-with-your-pc dept.
Thanks to GameSpot for their interview with Loren Kaiser regarding his company's DISCover software system that "aims to let users play PC titles on televisions as though they were console games." He discusses licensees of the technology that include the recently announced ApeXtreme PC 'console', though comments: "We don't like to use the term 'licensing' because we provide a BIOS chip that contains portions of the software. They're also getting our database of scripts, and several programs that work together that we call the DISCover engine." He also touches on example games such as Battlefield 1942, where the DISCover system makes it so "you put in [the] Battlefield [CD, and] the game starts right up." As for optional upgrades and add-ons, he says: "We'll handle the patches. As far as the mods, we'll just work with the mods that hit critical mass, the major ones."
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DISCover 'Drop And Play' PC Games For ApeXtreme Discussed More

DISCover 'Drop And Play' PC Games For ApeXtreme Discussed

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  • Playing on a TV (Score:3, Funny)

    by baywulf ( 214371 ) on Thursday January 08, 2004 @01:46PM (#7916469)
    That means you 640x480 resolution with free full screen anti-aliasing!
    • please....

      HDTVs? you know, 1980x1080i/1280x720p ?

      not to mention that a 50" bigscreen and a couch beat the freaking hell out of an office chair and 17 inch monitor.

      'nuff said.
      • Huh. Anyone who can afford a TV like that will probably be rich enough to own a PC in the first place, and most likely smart enough to use the TV out on their video card instead of buying yet-another-Xbox-wannabe.
  • From the article: DISCover itself is not making any consoles. DISCover's business model is to help electronics manufacturers tap into the gaming industry.

    Isn't this what 3D0 tried... and failed miserably at?
    • Isn't this what 3D0 tried... and failed miserably at?
      Sort of... except with this system all the software is already out there. No porting or console specific development (as with the 3D0). Could be interesting, maybe they'll be a spectacular failure instead!

    • Re:Intriguing... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by NanoGator ( 522640 )
      "Isn't this what 3D0 tried... and failed miserably at? "

      No, and no.

      The 3DO was not a rebuild of an existing system. It was a game console, albeit an expensive one. This is a PC that plays PC games, but designed to hook up to the TV.

      And no, 3DO did not fail miserably at it. The 3DO never attained the popularity of anything made by Nintendo, Sega, or Sony, but it was still a reasonably succesful system. (Modest is a word I would use strongly, here.) Want to talk about failures? Look at Jaguar or Virt

  • Anything... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ArmenTanzarian ( 210418 ) on Thursday January 08, 2004 @02:26PM (#7917102) Homepage Journal
    to stop hearing about that Phantom [infiniumlabs.com] console and all of its associated vaporocity.

    In seriousness though, if this ApeXtreme makes it so I don't have to blow all my money updating to that latest graphic FUBAR 5000XZ chip every time a new game comes out, it's definitely worth checking out. Especially if it's real, unlike the Phantom.

    • Re:Anything... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Who Man ( 671061 )
      Did I miss something? How is this going to solve that problem?

      With a console, the problem is solved because you buy a game for a specific version of a specific console (i.e. PS2). But this ApeXtreme will just be a PC, so when a new game comes out that uses FUBAR 5000XZ, you'll have to buy a new ApeXtreme (or other DISCover system) that supports the features of FUBAR 5000XZ.

      The problem could be solved if they put a label on the front of each system that said Level 1 and then the games said "works with Le
      • My concept of it is that game companies who want to support this will make a less whiz-bang copy of their games for the system. Yeah, the graphics won't be as good, but at least you'd be able to play them to some degree. I think the fact that there're still legacy servers out there for any of the older multiplayer games will attest to some degree of marketability for this concept.
        • I'd agree, if there were just going to be one DISCover system. Then I could buy a game that said DISCover on it and know it would work.

          Unfortunately, the ApeXtreme player is just one of many possible players. Buying a box that says DISCover won't mean anything, because different players will have different specs, just like PCs.

          I think it would have been smarter for DISCover to require some logo like D1, D2, etc. which designated certain minimum requirements. Who's to say game makers would actually adhe
          • ApeXtreme player is just one of many possible players

            That is a key point actually, if they _do_ make money off of this, then gaming companies will want to gear some product toward their stuff. Catch 22 though, because in making money, they'll attract copycats and standardization goes all to hell.

            No doubt they'll want to surround this sucker in DMCA hoopla, but making quick and easy swappable components for this thing could really help sell it. You'll still be upgrading your system (nullifying my original
      • This is the main drawback. With a PC, it's easy to just pull out a card and replace it. With this "console", it seems to be that you'd either have to replace the console or just live with not being able to play the game. It leaves you in a bad situation. This is a REPLACEMENT for a PC, not a secondary PC.

  • Battlefield (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    "you put in [the] Battlefield [CD, and] the game starts right up."

    I call bullshit.

    Battlefield is a 2-disk game, four if you include both expansion packs. And the version 1.5 patch was 140MB. I don't believe that you can play this game properly if you don't install it to the hard drive. It's going to be crippled or have reduced functionality otherwise. If I were the publisher of a PC game I'd be furious that somebody was attempting to work around my installers - I'd refuse to provide technical support for
    • I'm sure when it said "starts right up", it didn't mean that it played right away... that it installed first... especially if you finished RTFA before you posted. -_-
  • It mentions that it will be able to install 2-disc games... but it doesn't mention how long it will take to do so, and whether it will let you choose which installation you can make. Some games allow you to choose how much of the game you want to install, to limit HD space used. I'd be interested to know how this works.

    (Oh, and apologies for posting twice, but I had two separate thoughts on this subject. O_O)
    • If I had to guess, it should take about as long as a normal installation would in windows, being that it's nearly the same idea.
      As far as installation choices.. that's a good one. Since the CD is in there, it could, of course, get the data off the CDs if needed, ie FMV. Guess it's a wait-and-see...
  • is that people will know they bought a PC, and will do hacks to get it to run Windows and Linux. It will be more of an XBox with a harddrive then. Give them a playstation, and even though you can boot Linux, its all specialized playstation hardware and will be used as such. If you use generic hardware, people will try to use it for generic purposes.

  • sniff sniff (Score:2, Interesting)

    by castlec ( 546341 )
    How Are The Scripts Updated?
    Each time a new PC game is launched or about to be launched, your DISCover(R) console will use an Internet or phone connection to pull down the new script/s. It's a bit like the TiVo(R) model.
    Obviously, it must learn how to properly execute stuff, but I really don't like this idea. Not like there is any sensitive data or anything, or at least, there better not be, but there is potential for a dick to hose your system through script replacement.

  • Same article (Score:1, Flamebait)

    by superpulpsicle ( 533373 )
    I am sorry but this thing has as much chance in the market as Nokia Ngage if it's based off VIA chipsets.
  • Wasn't this essentially the original vision behind the X-Box? I mean sure it got sort of dilluted and the Box became more consoley as things progressed, but still. I mean, posters in this thread are already referring to the idea of manufacturers making a slightly different version of their games to work with this shiney new gizmo.
    Personally I hope to God it fails, since the multiplication of formats means I have to spread my money that much more thinly.

    On a related note, what happened to the Indrema? That
    • just imo -- its not meant to compete as a console. its meant to be an alternative to a media PC, basically. notice how it doesnt have any DRM, and runs on XPe? that tells me, at least, that its meant to be a computer that hooks up to your TV, rather than a console with a HD/DirectX/etc.

  • This MUSTsTOp (Score:5, Funny)

    by cgenman ( 325138 ) on Thursday January 08, 2004 @06:00PM (#7921045) Homepage
    KidZare GRAduating with HarvardMBA's INmarkITing WITHout kNOWingPrOPeR usAGE of CAPitals or COMPoundWordz?.

    PleaZe SUpporThEDuCATion of our ELItISt SUBurban EXEcutIVES. Becauz A MARKETingEXECUTIVE Is a teRRIBLEthIngTO waStE.

  • ... with a name like ApeXtreme has got to be ...

    Is it going to play "Donkey Kong"(tm)?

    "Donkey Kong" is a registered trademark of SCO. Just ask them.

  • Patent (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Here is the link to the DISCover PC Console web site:

    http://www.discoverconsole.com

    I noticed this interesting blurb in their "about" section:

    "DISCover(R) technology is protected by U.S. Patent No. 5,721, 951: a "home entertainment system for playing software designed for play in home computers." No one can manufacture a game console that plays PC games without infringing on this patent."

    Will the Phantom, if it ever gets released, be infringing upon this patent? It seems rather silly to me since the DIS
    • "DISCover(R) technology is protected by U.S. Patent No. 5,721, 951: a "home entertainment system for playing software designed for play in home computers." No one can manufacture a game console that plays PC games without infringing on this patent."

      It gets more contrived than that. What constitutes the legal definition of "Personal Computer" or "Personal Computing Device"? How does the X-Box not already fit that definition?

      "This may be the stickiest situation since Sticky the stick insect got stuck on
    • This statement only means they retained a lawyer. And obviously he doesn't understand the technology. The patent is patheticly weak and essentially worthless except when someone else sues them. Having this patent just gives them some balencing room and a buffer to repel other frivelous claim.

      The technology itself is the scripts and those are copyright protected. Other companies could come out and do the same thing but they would have to write their own configuration scripts. Who wants to configure 200
  • The major problem with playing computer games on a TV is that they are designed to be displayed with a nice crystal clear screen (monitor). Put them on a TV screen (try plugging your TV into your graphics cards TV out) and on all but hi-res TV with non-composite input, it's really damn hard to see text (usually games display them too small). Been there, done that.

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