E3 Information

gear02 · 05-10-2004, 07:08 AM

So the second most anticipated E3 ever (next year with Xbox next, PS3, and GC2 is the most anticipated) is in 2 days. I'm pretty sure many people are interested. Anyone up for posting links to E3 news so we have one place to find the juicy tidbits?

Booyamos · 05-10-2004, 07:37 AM

i usually check www.bluesnews.com They have regular E3 updates and lots of links to coverage. Though there is so much going on at E3 it is hard to keep up

ialsohaveadream · 05-10-2004, 09:44 AM

How about I go on assignment as a fake reporter, and report back fake info to this thread? For example:

I could tell you about the exciting Final Fantasy XII demo at E3. I talked to the people from Square, and they promised me it would be way less terrible than X-2 and Chronicles. However, the number of fans hurling demo discs back at them and shouting profanities did give me some doubts.

Then, at another booth, there was some first person shooter game, and in it you shoot a lot of people in a very graphic way. It was very popular with those under 15 years old, but the makers assured me that wasn't their target audience.

Finally, I went to the Nintendo booth, where they unveiled Mama Kong, a game where you play Donkey Kong's mother. You travel around the world collecting bananas and looking for your lost son DK. It's SUPER EXCITING!

gear02 · 05-10-2004, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ialsohaveadream

How about I go on assignment as a fake reporter, and report back fake info to this thread? For example:

I could tell you about the exciting Final Fantasy XII demo at E3. I talked to the people from Square, and they promised me it would be way less terrible than X-2 and Chronicles. However, the number of fans hurling demo discs back at them and shouting profanities did give me some doubts.

Then, at another booth, there was some first person shooter game, and in it you shoot a lot of people in a very graphic way. It was very popular with those under 15 years old, but the makers assured me that wasn't their target audience.

Finally, I went to the Nintendo booth, where they unveiled Mama Kong, a game where you play Donkey Kong's mother. You travel around the world collecting bananas and looking for your lost son DK. It's SUPER EXCITING!

Have you been drinking with revil?

First news of E3: The Phantom Revealed.

http://www.audioholics.com/news/indu...hantom_pr.html

Quote:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Infinium Labs to Unveil Phantom Gaming Service at Electronic Entertainment Expo
Game Industry First: Free Video Game System with Service Commitment;
Service to Launch Nov. 18, 2004

SARASOTA, Fla. – May 10, 2004 – Infinium Labs, Inc. (OTC BB: IFLB) will debut its much anticipated Phantom™ Gaming Service – the first end-to-end, ondemand game distribution service – at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), in Los Angeles, May 12 – 14, 2004, at Booth 746 in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The E3 conference and exposition features the largest assembly of companies in the interactive entertainment market.

In a game industry first, the company plans to provide the Phantom Gaming Service hardware free of charge to consumers who sign a two-year contract for a basic subscription to its flagship online gaming service at $29.95 per month. Consumers can also opt to buy this advanced gaming “receiver” and required accessories without a commitment for $199, which will be credited back to their account over two years if they remain a subscriber.

Designed for the whole family, from the avid gamer to the casual player, the new service will offer subscribers a library of titles, from the top new games to old standards people want to play again and again – and make them available any time, day or night, from the comfort of their home. The Phantom Gaming Service is slated to go live on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2004.

The Phantom Gaming Service has four key components: the service itself, the receiver hardware, a robust yet flexible distribution network and a large library of games. Titles will be streamed on demand from the service to a Phantom receiver over any broadband Internet connection, in much the same way as consumers receive ondemand satellite or cable television content. Subscribers will receive an initial library of free games, which will be supplemented with new choices each month as a part of their subscription fee. Additional titles can be rented or purchased. Premium content packages will also be made available.

The receiver for the Phantom Gaming Service can sit in any room in the home, connected to the TV and any broadband Internet connection, and be used by various members of the household at different times of day. The receiver hardware will be designed to deliver a compelling entertainment experience into the future, featuring the AMD® Athlon™ XP 2500+ central processing unit (CPU), the NVIDIA® GeForce™ FX 5700 Ultra graphics processing unit (GPU) and the NVIDIA® nForce™2 Ultra 400 platform processor.

The Phantom Game Receiver will be produced in Asia by BIOSTAR®, a leading Taiwan-based contract manufacturer and will feature 256MB of main system memory and a 40GB hard drive. In addition, the receiver will come bundled with a gamepad, a mouse and the Phantom Lapboard, an extremely innovative peripheral that enables players to control games designed for keyboard and mouse usage as intuitively and with as much fidelity on the couch as they are used to in the office.

“ Everybody loves games, both the casual player and the avid gamer,” said Kevin Bachus, president, Infinium Labs. “People my age who grew up playing video games are now starting families of their own and are eager to play together. We’ll have an array of titles, something for everybody. And all the consumer will have to do is sit down in front of the system, choose a title and begin to play. The service is that easy to use. We anticipate that every generation will be fighting over the controllers.” The Phantom Gaming Service will give everyone in the household a personalized game system, from the selection of what interface they want to have to an individual filing system of their favorite titles, based on their choices. The Phantom Gaming Service will also “learn” the game preferences of individual users and automatically offer titles likely to please that player.

Games owned by the subscribing household or base location will be downloaded to reside on the hard drive in the Phantom receiver. Should the hard drive approach capacity, the service will recognize this and will manage the cache in the background, invisible to the user, removing those games that were played least recently. Down the line, if the user tries to call up a removed game, the Phantom service will simply re-stream it to the hard drive.

Both multiplayer and single player titles will be available when the system is launched, and players will be able to play over the Internet against other Phantom subscribers, as well as PC and console gamers. The service will not require that other players subscribe to the Phantom service to join in.

Bachus says the Phantom Gaming Service will give publishers increased visibility to a wider audience for their titles and new revenue from their back catalogs of games.

“ With the Phantom Gaming Service, publishers can get a title to gamers within hours of when the gold master is cut,” Bachus said. “They hand us a disc, and we’ll do the rest, making it available to consumers in record time because we don’t have to deal with physical manufacturing and distribution. We can also help publishers get a buzz going with rentals before the title arrives at traditional outlets. Another benefit will be a new revenue stream from previously released titles.” Promotions and special packages such as a deal on groups of titles in a particular genre will be offered monthly to subscribers to the service. The Phantom Gaming Service will be available this fall through multiple distribution channels, including leading retailers.

“ Retailers have been successful selling music download services, DVD rental clubs, satellite radio and television subscriptions, and multiple types of cell phones and service programs for quite a while since they offer the retailer access to ongoing subscription revenue,” Bachus pointed out. “The major retail chains have responded positively to having a gaming service to offer as well.”

Gaming centers and Internet cafés have also expressed interest in having the service on their premises. Bachus expects the Phantom Gaming Service eventually to be embraced by everyone from fraternities and college dorms, to bars and hotels, to military bases, airport executive clubs and libraries.

The Phantom Gaming Service will be demonstrated in an 8,000 sq. ft. booth at E3. Visitors can come by and test the service in real-life environments, sitting on a couch or on the floor in an iconic “family room,” in the gathering area at a “dorm room” or sitting at a table in a “coffee shop.” Starting today, visitors can go to the completely redesigned Phantom Gaming Service web site for the latest company and service information at www.phantom.net.

Infinium Labs, Inc. was founded by a management team with extensive experience in interactive media, entertainment, broadband services and technology. The company is set to launch a cutting edge online gaming service in the fourth quarter of 2004. The Phantom Gaming Service will be delivered online over any broadband network and offer a broad library of games designed to appeal to the avid gamer as well as the casual player. For more information, please visit www.phantom.net.

gear02 · 05-10-2004, 10:04 AM

Another article about the Phantom

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/05...s_6096249.html

Quote:

First Look: the redesigned, $199 Phantom console
Infinium Labs announces the PC game console's specs, launch date, and its plan to give them away--to people who sign up for a year's worth of service.

more screens (4)
View the slideshow »
Screenshot Index »

Could the Phantom PC game console be for real? This morning its maker Infinium Labs, a company that has come in for harsh criticism from many game industry corners, put its cards on the table. In a fact-filled statement, the company said the service for its self-styled "game receiver" would launch November 18, 2004.

Infinium also revealed what's inside the receiver: an AMD Athlon XP 2500+ central processing unit, Nvidia GeForce FX 5700 Ultra graphics processing unit, and an Nvidia nForce2 Ultra 400 platform processor. The receiver will be manufactured at Taiwan-based Biostar’s production facility in GuangDong Province, China. Other key specs of the Phantom receiver are DirectX 9 compliant graphics and audio, Dolby Digital 5.1 channel audio, 256MB of RAM, and a 40GB hard drive.

To entice gamers to sign onto the Phantom service, Infinium is borrowing a page from the cell phone industry's book. The company plans on giving away a receiver, keyboard, and controller--to anyone willing to sign up for a two-year commitment to the service. The basic subscription package will cost $29.95 per month, with game prices to be set by publishers, but in line with retail, says Infinium. The service will offer game rentals as well, most often priced at $5 for three days. Gamers will also be able to purchase the hardware without any commitment for $199.

The game delivery model for the service sees games streamed on demand to a Phantom receiver over a broadband Internet connection. Subscribers will start off with a library of free games, to be supplemented with new titles each month. The service is to be available through a number of leading retail chains, though partners have yet to be announced.

When asked how the launch of the Phantom service compared to other launches he’d been associated with, president and COO Kevin Bachus admitted that this one was “certainly the most memorable.” That's saying something, given that he was part of the core Xbox launch team.

Bachus added that, “obviously, this launch hasn't been without its own unique challenges, but it's easy to forget the skepticism and criticism that surrounded the early days of Xbox and the tremendous pressures of getting ready for that launch.” On the eve of the Phantom’s coming out party--the device will be on display this week at E3--Bachus said he believes the chances for the gaming service's success are high. “Although it may sound like an overstatement,” Bachus said, “I truly believe that the opportunity to do something here that has an unbelievably positive impact on our industry and on the lives of our customers is greater than in any other venture I've been associated with or am likely to be associated with in the future.”

The Phantom will be on display at the Infinium Labs booth at E3, which opens this Wednesday in Los Angeles.

Nija · 05-10-2004, 11:47 AM

oo that Phantom.. it's only 3 years late

glagic · 05-10-2004, 12:33 PM

i think my brother is supposed to be going to this. i asked him to take pictures. ill see if he'll give me anything and then ill post it here

mcs328 · 05-10-2004, 01:24 PM

So the pricing structure is $30/month plus any games I play I have to buy/rent? Sounds expensive to me. Maybe I misread.

gear02 · 05-10-2004, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcs328

So the pricing structure is $30/month plus any games I play I have to buy/rent? Sounds expensive to me. Maybe I misread.

That's what it is. $30 a month for the console itself (kinda like a cable modem rental), plus any charges for game rentals, which sound like they're about the same as a blockbuster rental, and game purchases.

It's an interesting model, similar to what cable tv companies do with pay per view. Two problems I see, the idea of streaming and purchasing games via download has not been proven to be a viable business model, and two, I don't even know what games are available.

Eugene · 05-10-2004, 06:55 PM

Boxing a computer as a console? Makes me wonder how long it'll take before someone hacks it and discovers a way to rent games forever...

But I agree... it does sound pretty expensive. Unless the games are exclusively for the Phantom and really good, for the same amount of money, you could probably rent a lot of games for other platforms via blockbuster or netflix's cousin.

gear02 · 05-11-2004, 06:01 AM

EA to go (Xbox) Live

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040510/sfm146_1.html

Halo 2 official launch date: November 9th.

http://www.1up.com/article2/0,2053,1590349,00.asp

http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifesty...tendo-ds_x.htm

A pic of the DS is included in the article.

ialsohaveadream · 05-11-2004, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gear02

Halo 2 official launch date: November 9th.

Oh, is that this month's pretend launch date? Last month it was September.

civicdidex · 05-11-2004, 11:03 AM

yeah, when will it be "officially" pushed back some more??

gear02 · 05-11-2004, 11:31 AM

Since there's going to be a lot of information, I'm going to post different E3 stories in different threads.

Booyamos · 05-11-2004, 01:51 PM

Half Life 2: http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox/720/Halo-2/p1

http://movies.teamxbox.com/halo2/halo2_demo1.wmv
http://movies.teamxbox.com/halo2/part3.wmv
http://movies.teamxbox.com/halo2/halopart4.wmv
http://movies.teamxbox.com/halo2/halopart5.wmv

there is an E3 video, looks pretty cool. Even though i wanted to smack the guy for saying it is the most anticipated game on any console.. pssh HL2, Doom3, scorched earth 4.0... wait...

05-10-2004, 07:08 AM	#1
gear02 Admiral Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 7,223	E3 Information, Updated with DS, Halo 2 info So the second most anticipated E3 ever (next year with Xbox next, PS3, and GC2 is the most anticipated) is in 2 days. I'm pretty sure many people are interested. Anyone up for posting links to E3 news so we have one place to find the juicy tidbits? Last edited by gear02 : 05-11-2004 at 06:11 AM.

05-10-2004, 07:37 AM	#2
Booyamos Commander Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,277	i usually check www.bluesnews.com They have regular E3 updates and lots of links to coverage. Though there is so much going on at E3 it is hard to keep up __________________ Boo ya Grandma

05-10-2004, 09:44 AM	#3
ialsohaveadream Fleet Admiral Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: FL Posts: 8,077	How about I go on assignment as a fake reporter, and report back fake info to this thread? For example: I could tell you about the exciting Final Fantasy XII demo at E3. I talked to the people from Square, and they promised me it would be way less terrible than X-2 and Chronicles. However, the number of fans hurling demo discs back at them and shouting profanities did give me some doubts. Then, at another booth, there was some first person shooter game, and in it you shoot a lot of people in a very graphic way. It was very popular with those under 15 years old, but the makers assured me that wasn't their target audience. Finally, I went to the Nintendo booth, where they unveiled Mama Kong, a game where you play Donkey Kong's mother. You travel around the world collecting bananas and looking for your lost son DK. It's SUPER EXCITING! __________________ Web log

05-10-2004, 11:47 AM	#6
Nija Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: May 2001 Location: City of The Dead Posts: 13,552	oo that Phantom.. it's only 3 years late __________________ "Nija is the dark soul of gotapex. We don't like to talk about him." - LPMiller

05-10-2004, 01:24 PM	#8
mcs328 Admiral Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Maryland Posts: 6,578	So the pricing structure is $30/month plus any games I play I have to buy/rent? Sounds expensive to me. Maybe I misread. __________________

05-10-2004, 12:33 PM	#7
glagic Lieutenant Commander Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: UC Irvine Posts: 799	i think my brother is supposed to be going to this. i asked him to take pictures. ill see if he'll give me anything and then ill post it here

05-10-2004, 06:55 PM	#10
Eugene Lieutenant Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: SD Posts: 294	Boxing a computer as a console? Makes me wonder how long it'll take before someone hacks it and discovers a way to rent games forever... But I agree... it does sound pretty expensive. Unless the games are exclusively for the Phantom and really good, for the same amount of money, you could probably rent a lot of games for other platforms via blockbuster or netflix's cousin.

05-11-2004, 06:01 AM	#11
gear02 Admiral Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 7,223	Tuesday E3 News EA to go (Xbox) Live http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040510/sfm146_1.html Halo 2 official launch date: November 9th. http://www.1up.com/article2/0,2053,1590349,00.asp http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifesty...tendo-ds_x.htm A pic of the DS is included in the article. Last edited by gear02 : 05-11-2004 at 06:06 AM.

05-11-2004, 11:03 AM	#13
civicdidex Lieutenant Commander Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: south san fran Posts: 537	yeah, when will it be "officially" pushed back some more?? __________________ fate grasps me and blurs my vision

05-11-2004, 11:31 AM	#14
gear02 Admiral Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 7,223	Since there's going to be a lot of information, I'm going to post different E3 stories in different threads.

05-11-2004, 01:51 PM	#15
Booyamos Commander Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,277	Half Life 2: http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox/720/Halo-2/p1 http://movies.teamxbox.com/halo2/halo2_demo1.wmv http://movies.teamxbox.com/halo2/part3.wmv http://movies.teamxbox.com/halo2/halopart4.wmv http://movies.teamxbox.com/halo2/halopart5.wmv there is an E3 video, looks pretty cool. Even though i wanted to smack the guy for saying it is the most anticipated game on any console.. pssh HL2, Doom3, scorched earth 4.0... wait...

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