Infinium: Phantom to be out this year, to cost $480+

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http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=9139

With a $19.95 subscription fee being paid for a MINIMUM of 2 years, plus the cost of the initial hardware, this thing will be expensive if it ever actually makes it onto the market (hahaha).

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Infinium's Phantom a no-show at E3

Infinium_PhantomReceiver.jpg
Ellie Gibson 13:03 24/05/2005

Bachus restates confidence in on-demand gaming, but $11.5 million investment is needed

Infinium Labs president Kevin Bachus has reiterated that the Phantom game service will launch later this year, after the system's non-appearance at E3 prompted further speculation that the product may never make it onto the market.

The Phantom is designed to let consumers purchase and download console games in the comfort of their own homes. Along with an initial layout for the hardware, a subscription fee of $19.95 per month is payable for a minimum of two years.

Infinium Labs unveiled the product at E3 2004 and it was nominated for best hardware of the show award. However, since then, several launch dates have been missed and now the company itself seems to be unsure as to the future of the Phantom.

On April 20, the company filed a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that another $11.5 million is required before a launch can go ahead.

The report stated: "There is a high likelihood that sufficient capital will not be available... And the launch date will again shift and/or the company will go out of business."

But in an interview with US website tradersnation.com last week, Infinium president Kevin Bachus stated that the Phantom will indeed launch in the US "later this year."

He went on to say the company was confident of the machine's money-spinning potential, identifying "three streams of revenue" - the hardware, the content and the subscription fee.

"Between those three revenue streams, we feel very confident that we're going to be able to not only deliver value to the consumer but to our shareholders as well," Bachus said.

Infinium also says that product development and testing is "near complete", and has confirmed that more than 20 publishers - including Atari, Vivendi and Eidos - have already signed up to supply content.

Infinium was unavailable for further comment at the time of writing.
 
This could be CAG bookie material. Will the system launch or the company go out of business? At the current rate though, we may not find out this year.
 
Phantom has appeared to be a joke for several years now. Their executives have a revolving door, and their hype machine is rapidly losing steam as the new home consoles get closer to market. If consumers really want to play PC games, most people will probably do it on a PC rather than spend cash on an unknown subscription service.
 
Say what you may, but I had the opportunity to demo the unit at an EB Manager's conference last October, and I was amazed by its power.

Let's not forget a similar on-demand service - everyone laughed at Tivo when the concept was being thrown around the drawing board too... (They even came a hair's length close to going out of business.) But look at them today - every major cable company is now trying to compete with them.

I'd give Phantom a go - but I just can't foresee paying a guaranteed $240 for 2 years of content without some sort of exit clause.
 
[quote name='psiufoxx2']Say what you may, but I had the opportunity to demo the unit at an EB Manager's conference last October, and I was amazed by its power.

Let's not forget a similar on-demand service - everyone laughed at Tivo when the concept was being thrown around the drawing board too... (They even came a hair's length close to going out of business.) But look at them today - every major cable company is now trying to compete with them.

I'd give Phantom a go - but I just can't foresee paying a guaranteed $240 for 2 years of content without some sort of exit clause.[/QUOTE]

What games did you play?
 
Say what you may, but I had the opportunity to demo the unit at an EB Manager's conference last October, and I was amazed by its power.
Click to expand...

No offense to you whatsoever, psiufoxx, but what are the odds they just built a powerful PC inside of a shiny case and played a few pre-rendered movies or just had some programmer whip up a few graphical showpieces? It seems clear from the beginning the executives have just been trying to bilk investors out of tens of millions of dollars and have been doing a superb job of it. Meetings like the one you describe are sure to keep the money coming in..."See? We have a working product and interested retailers!" It's already happening, they are getting close to "launch" and the money is about gone. Right into the executives' pockets!
 
[quote name='uzumaki_star']Why didn't they do like they promised years ago and they could have beaten everyone else to the punch.[/QUOTE]
If you read Kevin Bachus resume, you see that he has started & bankrupted several companies. This appears to be his method of employment:
- Make huge promises
- Get rich backers to give him millions
- Sit on the money for a few years
- Declare the corporation bankrupt



I don't think Mr. Bachus ever intended to make a console. It was just a fake product to scam people out of their money (like snake oil).

troy
 
[quote name='psiufoxx2']Say what you may, but I had the opportunity to demo the unit at an EB Manager's conference last October, and I was amazed by its power.

Let's not forget a similar on-demand service - everyone laughed at Tivo when the concept was being thrown around the drawing board too... (They even came a hair's length close to going out of business.) But look at them today - every major cable company is now trying to compete with them.

I'd give Phantom a go - but I just can't foresee paying a guaranteed $240 for 2 years of content without some sort of exit clause.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it was playable on the show floor at E3 last year as well. Its just a PC in a different style case. The barrier to entry is too high...it will never fly.

And for Tivo.... Watch for them to continue to lose money as the cable companies build competing service into their own cable boxes. I get DVR service from my cable company for $8 a month with no equipment to buy ever. And if it breaks, the cable company gives me a new box for free.
How can Tivo compete with that?
 
[quote name='psiufoxx2']Say what you may, but I had the opportunity to demo the unit at an EB Manager's conference last October, and I was amazed by its power.

Let's not forget a similar on-demand service - everyone laughed at Tivo when the concept was being thrown around the drawing board too... (They even came a hair's length close to going out of business.) But look at them today - every major cable company is now trying to compete with them.

I'd give Phantom a go - but I just can't foresee paying a guaranteed $240 for 2 years of content without some sort of exit clause.[/QUOTE]

TiVo was a new idea and concept that has application. This is just a PC with "downloadable content", which game companies have already been doing. It's a useless piece of crap. I don't know about most people, but I really don't need another cable box type device especially to play videogames when there are so many consoles out there and PC technology is changing all the time.

There's nothing novel or new about this idea. Eventhough the average person probably isn't that intelligent, I have enough faith that they are intelligent enough to not waste their money on this crap.
 
There are some naive people in Infinium if they honestly believe their own crap. A system that costs nearly $500, a subscription service of $20 a month for 2 years, this is never going to sell.
 
It is a very tough sell, but even in the wake of 360 and PS3...the phantom is really in a nich market...the question is how big is that nich market
 
The Phantom is supposed to be a PC that you use as a console with a gamepad and stuff.

What is wrong with sitting at a desk and using a keyboard & mouse when playing PC games?
 
[quote name='Quackzilla']The Phantom is supposed to be a PC that you use as a console with a gamepad and stuff.

What is wrong with sitting at a desk and using a keyboard & mouse when playing PC games?[/QUOTE]


Actually, you use a keyboard and mouse to play the Phantom, too.

lapboard.gif


Actually, the one good thing Infinium has done is to create the lapboard. I've heard it's incredibly comfortable and works very well.
 
[quote name='Grave_Addiction']I've heard it's incredibly comfortable and works very well.[/QUOTE]

A lot of good it will do investors when the company goes bankrupt shortly after launch (if the system ever launches). As for Phantom's potential customers, let's just say I'm glad I'm not one of them. :D
 
[quote name='MaxBiaggi2']A lot of good it will do investors when the company goes bankrupt shortly after launch (if the system ever launches). As for Phantom's potential customers, let's just say I'm glad I'm not one of them. :D[/QUOTE]

Maybe they could sell the rights to it to Microsoft for their WebTV service.
 
It's a bullshit invention. No one wants it even if it did get released, they either have PCs that can do all this already or are waiting for the XB360 and PS3.

They've got nothing they're just trying to fill their pockets so they can all buy new ferraris, I advice everyone to ignore it and move on with their lives, there's nothing to see here.
 
I remember about six months ago, IL actually had a forum running on their site. They actually had quite a few members on their and some people seemed pretty pumped about it.

One guy, who was a beta tester, took some photos of him playing the Phantom at his house. The graphics looked pretty impressive. This was before IL showed the Phantom in its current form.

This is what his system looked like.

26981-phantom.jpg


Before IL announced that only PC games were going to be available for the Phantom, I was kind of looking forward to the system. It's a good idea and could be better for the consumer, but Infinium Labs is the wrong company to try to make it successful.

If anyone wants to read some history on Infinium Labs and its suits, check out these articles -

http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NTEy

http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjU3
 
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