correct me if I'm wrong but I believe vaporware refers to any kind of hardware that basically has only released specs of what it is supposed to be. Whether it has those specs, or releases at all, remains in doubt.

Just cancelled my pre-order. Thanks.

Anyway, Vaporware, as I have know it to be, talking about a product without releasing any specs. For instance, there has been no mention of what exactly the hardware is for this system.

Whatever, I'm a beta tester of the Phantom console and so far it rocks!

haha, cool, does it really have more games than any other console? Is it really only $50 at target this week?

It's not at Target yet, it's still in beta testing. It had 900 games so far and it will debut at about 50 bucks... plus a subscription fee.

I heard it also acts as a garbage disposal and has included the sensormatic technology which dispenses certain scents when triggered by the software. For instance, when you buy it, it releases the scent of crap.

Trigger, can you confirm? Or are you on a NDA?

Jeremy

I just got a news letter from them, heres what it has to say:

Welcome!
Welcome to Issue #2 of the Phantom NewsNet, the official news letter of the Phantom Game System. There are many exciting things happing here at Phantom and we are excited to share them with you

Infinium Labs Establishes Corporate Headquarters in Sarasota

Infinium Labs recently signed a five-year lease on 10,000 sq. ft. of prime office space to locate its corporate offices in the Centre Pointe Building in downtown Sarasota, Florida. The Centre Pointe offices are in close proximity to many of the company’s early investors, its corporate legal counsel and the industrial design firm that is developing the Phantom Game System™ prototypes

The new offices will help fulfill Infinium Labs’ goal of working with key business leaders in the Sarasota area to create jobs and economic growth in the computer game and technology industry. The company expects to grow and offer employment opportunities in computer animation, graphic and interactive communications, sales and marketing.

The company hopes to draw from the wealth of talent at nearby Ringling School of Art and Design, a leader in 3d rendering and computer animation, and to work in close partnership with the Greater Sarasota Chamber Of Commerce to create economic growth in this region. Our new address is, 2033 Main Street Suite 309 Sarasota, FL 34237



Infinium Labs Looks To Recruit Computer Animation, Graphic and Interactive Communication Artists.

Infinium Labs has initiated recruitment efforts to build its own team of 2D and 3D artists to provide design and art production support for internal and external communications. The team will provide design and production services for marketing collateral, websites, and motion graphics featured in our web sites and the Phantom Game System.


The company is recruiting graduates of computer animation, graphic and interactive communications programs who are interested in locating in Sarasota to work in the video game industry.


Artists interested in employment opportunities may submit resumes and work portfolios on CD-ROM by mail to:


Infinium Labs Corporation

Human Resources

2033 Main Street

Suite 309

Sarasota, FL 34237


Our goal is to hire and retain the gaming industry’s top talent by making Infinium Labs a rewarding and exciting place to work. We strive to create an environment where talents are recognized and collaboration is valued. Everyone at Infinium Labs has the opportunity to learn, grow and help us achieve our mission to provide consumers with the ultimate game experience.

Infinium Labs Corporation is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, disability, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by law.




2nd Generation Prototypes of Phantom Game System™

Completed and Undergoing Testing


Refinements and technology updates have been incorporated in the 2nd generation prototypes of the Phantom Game System that are undergoing testing at Infinium Labs.

The Phantom™ next-generation game system supports games on-demand, game rentals, game demos, seamless upgrades and patch management. The Phantom Game system includes the fastest gaming platform on the market with a broad selection of pre-loaded games. The Phantom system uses the PhantomNet VPGN (Virtual Private Game Network) to function as an “always on broadband device,” which allows gamers a wealth of options, from wireless connectivity to massive multiplayer capability to allowing gamers to demo games before purchasing or subscribing. The Phantom Game System and PhantomNet™ VPGN broadband service are designed with one purpose in mind - unprecedented flexibility, affordability and performance.



OTHER PHANTOM NEWS


Reserve A Phantom Game System™

At Phantom.net and Infiniumlabs.com

Infinium Labs is accepting reservations for Phantom Game Systems at Phantom.net and Infiniumlabs.com websites. Reservations will be used to hold a Phantom in your name when the product becomes available and is ready to ship. All registrants will be contacted shortly before the Phantom is ready for delivery to confirm orders and to arrange for payment and shipping.


Video Introduces Phantom Game System™

A three-minute video that provides a preview of the Phantom Game System is available in streaming and download formats at Phantom.net and Infiniumlabs.com websites. The Phantom video shows next-generation game system built by gamers for gamers. The Phantom delivers high-octane performance that makes it the must-have game system.

Electronic Press Kit _ EPK Version 3.0 Now Available!
Infinium Labs’ Electronic Press Kit is available to the media and press. This kit includes corporate information, executive management bios, product and service specs, FAQ's, Logo's, Contacts and the new Phantom Product Sheet.

The Phantom EPK is available by request only and is only available to the press, media and investors. To request this kit please email us at [email protected].

Contact Information
Infinium Labs welcomes all comments, questions and suggestions. If you like to contact us please use the following contact information:

Press and Media - [email protected]

Jobs- [email protected]

Sales - [email protected]

BETA Testers - Please register at www.phantom.net


Web Links

Be sure to visit us online at:

www.phantom.net or www.infiniumlabs.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Infinium Labs Corporation

2033 Main Street Suite 309 Sarasota, FL 34237

(C) 2003 Infinium Labs All Rights Reserved.

Infinium Labs, Phantom, PhantomNet-VPGN, Phantom Game Console are Trade and Service Marks of Infinium Labs Corporation.



BTW, this was also a 500k email, and they sent me two of them. Having a 2mb storage copacity this made me a little angry

I signed a NDA, but I don't care - they give me cash all the time to help promote the thing saying how great it is. Anyway - yeah, it does all that plus more. It's also a home security system... when someone breaks in, it transforms into a little mech robot that patrols your house and shoots tiny missles and .22 bullets into his kneecaps... if you remain asleep, it disposes of the body and cleans up after itself.

I definitely have to get one now

Spooked by a Phantom

January 12, 2004
By Ivan Sulic

Spooked by a Phantom
Want PC games easy? Phantom is the promise of high-end computer power with console ease, but will it work?

At CES in Las Vegas I expected to see very little of interest to me, a gamer. I expected to waste my nights check raising tourists at Hold 'Em, likely drinking my weight in Makers and Sapphire (depending on what day it was). I did not, however, expect to hold a sleek, functional prototype of the Phantom game console from the sometimes controversial developers at Infinium Labs.

For James Roberts, Infinium's vice president of marketing and communications, this little endeavor marks his fourth startup. If it weren't for the Phantom, a small motley crew of us Ziff-Davis editors wouldn't have surprised the undaunted but jetlagged James at a local business plaza near the not so fabulous Las Vegas Convention Center. We showed up unexpectedly, but he was nonetheless willing to take us in and show us around. Ten minutes of finagling with a less than cooperative bald cohort of sorts was followed by the eating of many handfuls of cashews and the listening to a variety of typically trade show technical woes. We all then held hands on a brief stroll to the nearby Stardust, down a street J.R.R. Tolkien would probably call "Porno Gorgoroth." There a cab swept us up and whirled us to the Palms where the real demonstration was being held. We stepped into an elevator that left us high in a swank suite. The demo began.

It's Real. It Works.

In addition to ourselves and James, the room contained within it one working Phantom game console, one 5.1 setup, one plasma screen, one co-founder, one vice president of content acquisition, one chief financial officer, and one Royal O'Brien, chief technology officer. He led us threw most of the demonstration with down to earth answers and more cashews. Royal admitted there were some things the now publicly traded company was still unsure about, but there was a surprising level of disclosure to be had. Disclosure, a tangible product, and a working presentation make for a happy writer.

In a nutshell, Phantom is a customizable, high-end Windows XP embedded PC priced at between 300 and 500 dollars (but never over). It accepts no traditional physical media and distributes its content through a required broadband connection. Since there's no money to be made on packaging a high-end PC for a cool grand or two less than it's worth, Infinium charges a mandatory $10 per month as a subscription fee to its PhantomNet Game Service (also available in one lifetime, lump sum purchase). All games, be they full versions, time stamped rentals or free demos, are delivered securely and quickly through the Internet by a revision of video on-demand buffering technology. This means that while every PC game in all of existence is technically capable of playing on a Phantom, only those approved for online distribution and modified for that delivery scheme will be playable. No installs, no CDs, no boxes, no waiting, no performance problems, limited library, monthly subscriptions, cheap ass initial investment. Not bad. Want specs for the first version?

Approximately Xbox in Size
Custom OS on Windows XP Kernel
Up to AMD XP 3200+ CPU at 400MHz FSB
Up to 1GB RAM
$300 to $500 dollars, but never over $500
GeForce FX 5700
nForce 2 Ultra 400 Motherboard
80 to 320GB HDD
Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound
On-board RF wireless
10/100 baseT Ethernet
Wireless keyboard, mouse and gamepad included
4 USB ports
Optical and coaxial audio out
HD capable


The objective is not to earn profit off the manufacture and sale of the base unit. Imagine spending 300 to 500 dollars for the system (500 being ultra high-end) and then paying a mandatory 10 dollars a month atop more money for game rentals and purchases, of which Infinium no doubt takes a small percentage. Since the company's front-end and servers handle the load, they deserve some of the coin. It's an interesting business model that may sound like a console with a gimmicky subscription tacked onto it, but look at the machine from a PC gamer's perspective: I purchase a very solid, high-end PC that will technically play just about anything for real cheap ($500). I then pay $10 a month or a lifetime service charge (TIVO style). If I want to upgrade a year or two down the road, I can either cheaply select specific components to be added or improved upon (with work done by Infinium or a licensed third party) or just buy a whole new machine for $300 to $500 and have my existing account rollover to that new rig. Even if a $120 a year subscription is ever-present, that's a hell of a lot of money to be saved on the upgrade. Tell me, how often do you purchase a $300 to $500 video card? Screw that. Just buy a brand new machine every two years for the same cost and deal with the monthly charge. I actually admire the plan quite a bit since high-end PCs for the consumer level market are good for gaming and little else.

A Sexy System

It might even work in reality due to the mentioned buffering technology, but also to gamers, who would hold the licenses for the games they buy or rent. All of that information is kept server side and is not bound to the home system. If ever a new Phantom need be bought or an old one need be thrown out the window and set on fire, a replacement can be immediately setup with preexisting account information, which includes not only what you're spending, but all of the games you've bought thus far, all of the rentals you have in play, and all of the saves you've accumulated. It's all managed through the system's dashboard, so you never have to worry about getting railed when the thing becomes dated. The buffering technology grants access to any of those games with little to no wait.

And don't worry, navigation through the front-end dashboard to find these titles is done simply enough. A searchable database of available games can be seen, bought, rented, or demoed where applicable. Full video and text descriptions accompany each game, so blindly jumping in shouldn't be a problem. There's even a vast assortment of community options planned, including native instant messaging tools (Yahoo and ICQ for now) and bulletin boards.

Account setup and maintenance also seems pain free and yet robust. A master account is created for one user (the 10 dollars a month), and sub accounts are then made for whoever else might be using the machine. Each account can be accented by a modified, custom dashboard. Cleverly, it's even possible to select dashboard layouts based on a variety of criteria including age groups. An account for a four-year-old will differ significantly from one for a 14-year-old, for instance. But do you really want the kid from next door buying and renting games with your credit?

Password lockouts are obvious, but the creator of the master account can also set ceilings on a user by user basis, or even one overarching ceiling. For instance, I'll go ahead and set a monthly ceiling of $100 and apply it across the board. With it in place, never can my account be charged more than $100 a month regardless of how many games people attempt to rent or buy on it. I can then divvy up that $100. I give little sister $60 to play with, little brother $30, and little mooching neighbor kid $10. They have that limit and that's it. It's also possible to track exactly how much money has been spent at any given time, so getting all crazy with the credit shouldn't be a problem. It's pretty considerate stuff. But what are the games going to be like and will we really get 'em quick?

I don't know if you all have noticed, but networking technology is still not where it should be. DSL and cable connections can be pretty shameful at times. Infinium is proposing to deliver entire games over these mediums with barely a noticeable load. Is that even possible? According to Royal it is. Phantom only loads 40 or 60 megs of a game into memory at any given time, and whenever it's not being played, or is just left idle, the system picks up where it left off and begins loading the rest of the game onto the hard drive or into memory (if running, of course). It even defrags itself, another plus of being based on the XP kernel. Unfortunately, the hotel suite we were in didn't have Internet access, but Infinium is willing to back up its claims by holding a closed beta test in the not too distant future. There are other, more pressing problems to be first dealt with, however.

A High-End Behind

That's a mighty impressive backend you have there!

Right now the confirmed games list is lacking, sorely. Big names are being added consistently, but it's not the greatest library of titles I'd like to see given the potential of the system. As we're told, those on the list are ones that are just confirmed and presently being ported over to the Phantom (a quick job given the system's Windows heritage). According to reps, deals are in the works to obtain games from, "The six big engine developers." I figure that to be DOOM, Unreal, Source, Lithtech, Serious and Quake. Of course, it was said that nearly a dozen time-stamped and permanently exclusive titles were also in development. What they are exactly was not said, but the current plan sees some of them being announced later this month. Also of interest is how both Need for Speed and Return to Castle Wolfenstein were loaded onto our demo unit, but neither Activision nor Electronic Arts is a part of the confirmed publishers list, indicating that it is far from up-to-date.

As the specs show, it's a fairly kick ass PC. Games then run admirably, duh. We only had time to play Return to Castle Wolfenstein and it flew without stutter. Of particular note, however, is not how they perform but rather how they look. Native output of either standard definition 720 x 480 or high definition 1280 x 768 on televisions that are hopefully HD capable might just give your favorite PC games a new breath of life. I only pray Infinium can invest the time and money required to devote teams specifically to working out default options for supported games so that they look and run best on Phantom with the provided peripherals, whatever those peripherals end up being.

Right now the system was played using Logitech supplied components, all top-of-the-line wireless peripherals. It was not yet decided which third-party manufacturer Infinium would ultimately go with to provide the final keyboard, mouse and gamepad, nor was it decided whether or not they would be off-the-shelf versions of already available wireless keyboards, mice and gamepads, or if they'd be custom designed to suit the Phantom. We do know that the option for cords will be provided and four USB ports will handle steering wheels, voice communication headsets, and even high capacity memory cards for the storage of game saves, digital photos, and possibly music and movies. Remember, PhantomNet is just a modification of existing bleeding edge movie on demand technology.

There's much, much more to cover, but I'll try and be as brief as possible...

TIVO? Not yet, but it could be in the next revision.
Patches? Yup, and they're automatic.
Game editors? Sure.
Mods and maps and skins and total conversions? Shouldn't be a problem.
Multiplayer? Absolutely. In fact, a person playing a Phantom can join a Quake 3 PC server and play against those peoples whether the server is pure or not.

Phantom won't be found at retail when it ships later this summer (after E3, as they say). While units will be on display at several outlets, they won't be immediately available -- they'll be shipped on demand. To cut down on manufacturing and inventory costs, Infinium plans to do most of its business through online distribution.

Expect updated impressions and information on future Phantom happenings leading up to that time as soon as they are made available. For now, watch me as I swallow my crow. Last E3 I bit a lip restraining myself from laughing in the faces of Infinium representatives who showed nothing and promised much. Now I find myself smiling at them, not because my initial instinct was a correct one and I'm an jerk who likes to gloat, but rather because they actually seem to be creating a piece of legitimate gaming technology that could be very cool provided people keep an open mind about it. What I saw was promising and grounded in reality. No one could hope for anything better.

More photos:




Now I know what you guys were talking about here http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hlight=phantom

Chris

Wow. Just wow.

A real Phantom console.

It actually sounds pretty cool. If I had to be on top of the computer gaming relm this could be a viable way to do it. Especially once it is cracked and can play any Windows game

I think it is essential to get the big names on board. Namely Doom III and Half-Life 2. If they were included I think that would help out immensly. It would be proof that it is powerful enough to play any game out there.

I think hackers will have a field day with this product if it ever does come out. $500 sounds cheap for the specs on this thing.

why the need to hack it? just pop it open and rip out all the expensive goodies, then put them into your own pc.

I like the idea of the DISCover / APEX PC gaming console offering better myself.

This is very similar, but doesn't appeal to me as much.

--
fab

That thing is enormous. Its practically the size of two X-Box consoles combined.

DISCover might "out phantom" Infinium.

It will most certainly be hacked so that people can play games without their service, and/or cannibalized for its parts. Either case if fairly widespread would cripple their business model.

Sounds like a cool concept, but also sounds like an expensive proposition and the competition (console makers, as well as other PC makers) have deep pockets.

I see that it has coaxial inputs (specifically the one marked cable modem) and USB inputs which could be used for networking, but no standard ethernet (RJ45) connection? Does this thing have a cable modem built into it?

I thought the same thing until I saw the picture here:

Cool, thought I was missing something there.

Hey Betatester,




what kind of games are you testing out on the console?

Yes, which is one of its more absurd features.

Of course it's "real," it's simply a PC in an ugly box. It doesn't take much to pull that off. Doesn't change the fact that it's a joke and almost definitely a scam.

Ehh...no.

When I buy a game, I want to hold the physical media in my hand. I'm not going to trust that some company somewhere is going to "remember" all the games I've bought.

It's a dumb idea and it's obvious that it will fail.

Yep, seems kind of ridiculous to me to. Why would you go to the expense of building a cable modem into the thing? A NIC would be all that was needed in that regard.

I have a feeling that this thing will be hacked faster than the N-gage and will make that device look like a stunning success

This forum cracks me up sometimes with how people with absolutely no knowledge of something are able to judge it.

One of the main things that has always held back PC gaming is that it is far more difficult for the average person to get a game up and running on a PC than it is on a console system. It's a problem for the user, computer makers (what with all the "why won't this game work" tech support calls"), and the game designers trying to get the game to work as easily as possible on all system configurations.

The Phantom is designed with the average user in mind. The ability to play PC games without installing it, and configuring it, etc.. etc.. etc.. Will it be successful? Who knows. If they can find the right way to market it, sure, it could. Will it be hacked? Of course, but so have all the other consoles.

But some people on this board seem to be so fixed on the "anything different is bad" idea that unless it's just a PS2 with more memory, it seems like a stupid idea. The game industry has always thrived on innovation, not just renovation. For every few product ideas that fail, there's 1 that succeeds and takes the industry in a new direction. This may not neccessarily be one of the successes, but I'm willing to wait until it's released to find out.

That is just a ridiculous statement to make. It is completely untrue.

This is twice that you've made this claim (at least), and again it is unfounded.

Almost all the regular contributors to the forum are very knowledgable about video games, and have been playing them for a long time. We've come to know what is likely to fail, what is likely to succeed, and what needs to be improved.

The statements about this, the DS, and other products not yet out are just our opinions and are presented as so. You don't have to wait until something is released to speculate about it (were you criticizing us for saying that the N-Gage would fail? ).

If that kind of discussion bothers you and if you feed that it shouldn't be discussed at all until the product is released, you're probably in the wrong place.