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PC Games (Games) Entertainment Games

Mysterious Phantom Game Console Unveiled 61

Posted by simoniker from the top-quality-bundled-titles dept.
wishforunity writes "On Sunday, Infinium Labs released a video on their website about the specifications of their upcoming console (as mentioned previously on Slashdot.) It includes footage of the interface that will be used to purchase and rent games online. This thing seems like a beefed up computer in a box shape (deja vu?) You can see the video at Phantom.net." The specs include "custom OS on Windows XPe kernel, up to 3.0GHz processor with 256MB DDR RAM, 100+ Gigabyte internal storage device, on-board RF wireless modules, Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround Sound", and "ordering is expected to begin in October", but there's no software announcements - although the example interface in the video shows games such as Sonic Speedsters and, uhm, Bikini Karate Babes. Update: 08/18 00:57 GMT by S : An interview at Gigex.com has word that the price of the baseline unit will be "below $399", and the compulsory online subscription will be $9.95 per month, with game prices ranging from $2.99 to $50.
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Mysterious Phantom Game Console Unveiled More

Mysterious Phantom Game Console Unveiled

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  • It's just a PC with video out in a stupid ugly box (Score:4, Insightful)

    by andrewski ( 113600 ) on Sunday August 17, 2003 @05:46PM (#6719100) Homepage
    Subject line says it all...

    • Re:It's just a PC with video out in a stupid ugly (Score:4, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 17, 2003 @06:18PM (#6719245)
      Yeah but its a cool website and that alone gets my dollars

      • Re:It's just a PC with video out in a stupid ugly (Score:1, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        The website may be cool, but I suspect the server is about to get very, very hot.
      • Seconded. Very nice website.
        They can certainly talk the talk...
        Unlike that pitiful Indrema.
        Unique selling point: "It runs on Linux!"
        Er, hello? Like, gamers don't give a fuck? And no game programmer I know is a Linux freak.
        The Indrema was essentially a cut-down Xbox. 600MHz vs 733. Not much else. It failed because everybody was just like, "err,no" (=ECRAY "Program exited before being run")
        This thing is much more of a PC. I don't know how cheaply they can sell hardware like that.
        • Exactly. MS is having enough trouble selling their Xbox right now. People who are clued in realize that any game that comes out for Xbox will eventually come out for their much nicer PC's. With the price of PCs still dropping, many folk are willing to spend the extra hundred or so to get a basic PC that runs 90% of Xbox games, and can be used for all other computing tasks that the Xbox disallows you from taking advantage of.

          Soon, I envision most entry-level PCs coming with a video out as well as VGA for

  • Excuse me while I rush out and preorder one. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by recursiv ( 324497 ) on Sunday August 17, 2003 @05:57PM (#6719153) Homepage Journal
    Right. This will ever exist.
  • Just get a SFF PC box with video out, slap Windows XP Media Center & a few console ports in like Vice City & KOTOR...

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Sunday August 17, 2003 @06:04PM (#6719187)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • I sense a large number of Bikini jokes incoming... you were warned...
    • I sense a large number of Bikini jokes incoming... you were warned...

      Oh, like your ex-girlfriend in one? Now that's [gits.org] a joke!

    • No seriously. (Score:2, Interesting)

      by torpor ( 458 )
      I'd buy Bikini Buttkick Babes (or whatever its called) in an instant, if it were available right now.

      Those screenshots look pretty fun! The concept works on me!

      Just ... not so sure that their implementation would work, as a 'game' ... yet.

      Either way though it looks like this thing is just a Linux box in nice packaging - albeit, expensive and therefore doomed.

      Hope the game makes it to Linux though - that'd be a *GREAT* game for the Linux Game Front! :)

      • Re:No seriously. (Score:1, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward
        I'd buy Bikini Buttkick Babes (or whatever its called) in an instant, if it were available right now.

        It is available. Check the website more carefully (it's just a Windows game, not some console thing). There's also a demo available.

        My review: "interesting" concept, suck-ass controls. Not fun to play.

      • What the hell is that one girl shooting out of her ass???
    • Will there be a nudity patch for this one too?


    • Damn this game looks retarded, some bit FMV game a la "Night Trap", but looking even MORE like a Troma film in video game format
      • Oh, excuse me, it's not FMV, but it's still about 1995 video game technology. This is Karnal Kombat, basically. Actually it reminds me of some 3DO game that looked kinda cool at the time, but the game play turned out to suck ass.
  • I guess this means that we're that much closer to me recieving my beta test box!

    • Re:Almost There! (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Is your "beta test box" a Celeron 450 running Windows 98?
  • Do we really need another console?

    I mean, looking at xbox and PS2 alone, I feel that one of them should be abandoned. not to mention GameCube ...

    besides, who wants to see naked [flat] girls?

  • PCs in boxes (Score:5, Interesting)

    by neostorm ( 462848 ) on Sunday August 17, 2003 @06:27PM (#6719288)
    I built this thing 2 years ago. I don't have to rent the games, it plays over 5000 titles (thanks MAME, Zsnes, etc), it has four console gaming pads and an authentic arcade joystick. It cost me $300. -> http://www.mini-itx.com/

    You'll get a better deal out of making your own and you won't be insulted by titles like "Bikini Kombat Sluts", (and if you like that sort of thing, stick to the XBox with DOA Beach Volleyball. It probably has loads more "gameplay" than this cheap knockoff).

  • Third Party? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Gothic_Walrus ( 692125 ) on Sunday August 17, 2003 @06:35PM (#6719328) Journal
    Funny...I haven't heard any of the noteworthy third party developers (or even Acclaim, for that matter) announce any form of software support for the Phantom. Even if it does debut, it's going to die very quickly unless they manage to pull in some form of third party support.
  • Sonic Speedsters [sonicspeedsters.com] looks incredibly simillar to glTron [gltron.org] with fancier graphics.

    Since glTron is GPLd, and Sonic Speedsters doesn't seem to provide anything similar to source code, do you think this might be a case of Copyleft violation?

    • Ah yes, because glTron and sonic speedsters have that amazingly original gameplay mechanic and style, that of the light-cycle race. Oh wait, its not original, and every light-cycle game looks like that. Definitely a GPL violation.
      • Come on guy, my point is not about originality. You have a thousand clones of the same game. What I mean is, how could you know whether there is some GPLd code in a product like that, if you haven't got access to the code? A reverse engeneering could determine it?
    • It doesn't look all that similar, Sonic Speedster has a lot more detailed textures etc. glTron is a GPLed knockoff of Tron which has been around since Tron was in the movies. I doubt that there is any GPL violation here.

      I think I've played a Tron variant on every machine I've owned or used. Commodore Pet, TI/994A, Commodore 64, IBM PC, Macintosh etc.
    • with logic like that I can conclude one thing...

      You work for SCO.

  • Where is the DVD? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Darkstorm ( 6880 ) <lorddarkstorm AT hotmail DOT com> on Sunday August 17, 2003 @07:54PM (#6719632)
    Ok, I looked at the specs and I did notice that it says it will play pc games. That in itself could be a dream for some people who do not want to dedicate a full computer to windows (or is that a full partition). Anyways that in itself would be a good selling point, but it seems to be lacking even a cd rom, much less a dvd rom.

    So it seems to be completely dependent on them, which would not get my money. I have avoided tivo and replay tv because of the subscription concept. A console which I would bet will have some form of subscription service will be one reason for me to pass on it.
    • If you've avoided Tivo because of the subscription concept, than simply buy a lifetime subscription. It lasts the lifetime of the box (which you can make repairs on), and it totally makes tv worth watching again.
  • $5 says they get real bitchy with the first site that publishes how to turn the hardware into something useful.

  • Price = "below $399"? (Score:3, Funny)

    by sanchny ( 692285 ) on Sunday August 17, 2003 @09:49PM (#6720093)
    Translation: $398.99

  • "up to 3.0 GHz"?? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by fowlerserpent ( 690409 ) on Sunday August 17, 2003 @09:55PM (#6720104)
    It says up to 3.0GHz. I'll assume for $399 you dont get that processor.

    256MB of ram isn't enough.

    If this were microsoft,they might have a chance, because they would have billions of dollars in cash to burn through, ala the XBox. Even then, it would still be shitty.

    Furthermore, I think the press is going to kill these guys. I sense bad reviews once it is released.

    That being said. Its almost a good idea. A $400 computer is a good idea. Though, after the subscription costs, future upgrade costs, etc. Will it really be any (or much more) cheaper than a cheap gaming rig, which can actually do more.

    I think these guys are going to throw a lot of FUD at misinformed consumers. Besides, I know too many console gamers that think PC games mostly suck. Mind you, there is some truth to that.

    This thing has an uphill battle. But so does any new console.

  • missing the boat... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by bigbigbison ( 104532 ) * on Sunday August 17, 2003 @11:36PM (#6720438) Homepage
    You know there is almost a niche where this kind of thing could work, but unfortunately with it's stupid pay per play pricing scheme it is doomed to failure.

    I think that if they made it a regualr generic pc, but totally standardized them so that every one they sold was the same and made a big deal about gauranteeing that any game would play on it out of the box without fiddling and that for a modest suscription fee it would download patches and whatnot and every two years you would get an updated modle, I think that a lot of suburbanites who aren't computer savy might buy it. With a completely homogenious product line, they could go to the game developers and say here test your game on this box and the game developers could make sure it worked. They could put a little "Phantom approved" logo on it.

    If instead of spending all this time on making a secure backend for this streaming game stuff, they would spend time programing a sort of auto updater patch installer program they could make it more hands off for the idiot consumer. They could keep a database of games and the ratings for them and impiment a kind of V-chip for videogames to have a parental lock for games. "Parents don't be concerned about what your child is playing. The phantom has built in parental controls to keep your child from playing games that you don't approve of."

    But no they aren't doing that, something that could succeed. They are trying to do what divx failed at and what the original versions of rhapsody and pressplay failed at, namely to try and make us pay and pay for something we otherwise would already own.
  • the frikkin' thing uses all standard PC parts... feels more like Xbox rip off more than anything.

    more games than ANY console?! man, they put out a video like that AND make insane statements like that. wish i could get some of that CRACK the marketting department is smokin'.

    i'll be glad if this thing survives... then we don't have to laugh at Xbox about being last! :-)
  • the really funny thing is we've had The First Game [gltron.org] for years now.

    also, all of you owe it to yourselves to discover the horrific wrongness that is www.bikinikaratebabes.com [bikinikaratebabes.com].

    however, if they put naked midgets and fat women in the game, I might just have to plunk down hard-earned cash.
    admit it, you would too.

  • ...all the games are of this [bikinikaratebabes.com] quality.

    Seriously, its a nice idea, but you really need a 3GHz processor to do that? To get games at the same quality as current console and PC games, nevermind next gen consoles out in 2 years time, even over their broadband system it will take too long to be practical or FUN. It will sell at first, purely out of newness and I would guess for people wanting to pop the components out for their PCs but I doubt it will last.
  • What graphics chip is that bloated cpu making up for? a Xabre?
  • What we have here is an amazing console that will have some top-quality games.

    Why settle for "Quantum Redshift" and "Dead or Alive" when you can have even better titles, like "Sonic Speedsters" and "Bikini Karate Babes?" Team Ninja is going to be so jealous.

    If you think that's extreme gaming, then wait until you see which titles really tap the power of the Phantom.
  • "and the compulsory online subscription will be $9.95 per month, with game prices ranging from $2.99 to $50."

    Now this is what is pissing me off. You KNOW this will be like BuyMusic.com. There will be one or two crap titles at 2.99 and the rest at 50. What I want to know is what does that cost get me? Can I download the game as many times as I want while I still use the service? Or do I have to pay for it each time I download it? What happens when the HDD runs out and I have to start deleting games, b

  • This thing is going to crash and burn so hard that it's in danger of igniting the atmosphere.
  • Seriously, what are these guys smoking. I can see it now, two weeks (or less) after it is released. So one will figure out that if they put the board into a PC case, they have the worlds cheapest 3GHz computer.

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