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The Video Game Console Library - Infinium Labs Phantom

Infinium Labs Phantom

  DW FACTS by Dark Watcher
 
Developer Manufacturer Release Date Country(s) Initial Price Model Number  Game Releases  Overall Rating
Infinium Labs Infinium Labs  Scheduled for
01-Feb-06		 Worldwide $199.95 USD N\A 0 N\A
Ratings Reviews Pictures\Video Specs Games\Emulation Models Clones Links  
   
Worlds of Wonder Action Max

Ratings
Ratings are based on the available technology at the time of release.  Ratings based on a 10 point scale (10 being excellent\very rare).

Console Design (Appearance and overall functionality)

 N\A

Console Durability (Sturdy and hearty or frail and fragile)

 N\A

Controllers (Design, response, feel and ease of use)

 N\A

Graphics (Graphical capability and game presentation)

 N\A

Audio (Sound capabilities, including music, speech, effects)

 N\A

Media (Game media format, design, durability)

 N\A

Packaging (Appeal and durability of packaging)

 N\A

Game Library (Quality and quantity of game offerings)

 N\A

Innovations (Technological strides on the industry)

 N\A

Gamer Value (Is this a good investment for the gamer?)

 N\A

Collector Value (Is this a good investment for the collector?)

 N\A

Games Rarity (General availability of most games)

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Console Rarity (General availability of a functional system)

 N\A
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    Reviews
 

Phantom Design - Phase Two

 

 

 

 

Phantom Design - Phase One

DW FACTS
 - by Dark Watcher

Infinium Labs, a Tampa Bay area technology company, announced on January 20, 2003 that they were on the verge of releasing a new game console called the Phantom. The announcement seemed to have come out of blue causing some to believe that this console was either a hoax or vaporware. Could a small Florida based company take on three of the leaders of video gaming with their untested and unknown game console?

So what would the Phantom be packing that would make it stand out? Not only was Infinium Labs claiming to make this console outperform any on the market, but they would provide a unique way to attain games.

The Phantom is described as an "always on" broadband device making games available via the Phantom's downloadable system. Users will be able to subscribe to gaming packages, pay per play, demo / rent games you are looking to purchase, and seamlessly upgrade your system requirements and patches. This game downloading concept is not something new. The concept is similar to the prototype Taito WoWow and what was put into effect with the Satellaview in Japan.

Not only will the method be interesting for gamers, but game developers and publishers could reap greater profits using the new game delivery system. It makes sense since they don't have to pay for a game media format (Cart / CD / DVD). Meanwhile the Phantom reaps in funds from purchased downloaded games, licensing fees, and rentals (steal away Blockbuster's thunder). The Phantom would also reportedly provide music / movies on demand, and also instant messaging / video conferencing capabilities.

The Phantom Game Receiver (as reported in 2005) would have support for DVI, S-video and component video, feature full support for 5.1-channel stereo audio. The Phantom would be powered by Nvidia's NV line of graphics cards, and high-end CPU provided by AMD.

The Phantom was planned to ship with a sizeable suite of high-end PC games, slightly-older classics, and children's titles. The games would reportedly be free to play with the purchase or rental of the system. For renters the console would be available for a month-to-month rental fee of about $29.99 per month for two years, or you could cough up a one-time purchase fee of $199.99.

New games could be bought online using the system's buying interface with just a few mouse clicks. Though the system would come with a sizeable hard drive (of 40GB), it would automatically manage hard drive space by preserving the games that users play most often and deleting any games that haven't been played for some time. Once you buy a game, you could always download it again at no cost. Since Phantom is based on PC hardware, users would apparently be able to play online PC games with other users at the same level of play.

Could the Phantom succeed in a market dominated by three console giants clawing for superiority? Infinium Labs has already experienced financial setbacks and delays (missed original 2004 holiday release). They had also lost former Microsoft Xbox rep Kevin Bachus as their CEO. The Phantom's once unique "downloadable game" format has also been adopted by DISCover, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.

The Phantom has yet to get a release date. Infinium still insists it will happen. The company lacks the financial capitol to release, and has been put on hold indefinitely.

FACT: The system may never see the light of day, but Infinium Labs plans to at least make some money off of the Phantom Lapboard (for us on standard computer systems).

 

The original concept design of the Phantom looked much different from the design used above. The unit was a lot bulkier , but seemed to accommodate far more peripherals. The original design may have been too expensive for Infinium Labs to produce. This was the original Phantom concept.
 


  HANDS ON REVIEW
 

Unfortunately a HANDS ON REVIEW will never be available since this console was never released.
 

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     Pictures & Video
Original Promo Video

Video courtesy of AudioCatharsis.
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    Specs
Processor Type Processor Speed

Other Processor Information

 RAM \ Video RAM
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ 1.833 GHz  NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 GPU 256 MB RAM \ 128 MB DDR2 

Screen Resolution

Color Palette

Polygons \ Sprites

Audio
 1920 x 1080 (HD)  16.8 million Unknown Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio 

Media Format

Media Capacity

Games Released

Other Supported Formats
 Digital N\A 0  None

Internal Storage

External \ Removable Storage

Game Controllers

Other Game \ Peripheral Devices
 80 GB  None  Gamepad, Mouse, Lapboard None
Controller Ports Network Ports

Other Ports

Audio \ Video
 Two  Built in Ethernet (DSL or faster) Unknown  VGA, DVI, SVideo

Power Supply

Other Outputs

 Other Details \ Notes
Internal 110 Volt (guess)  Unknown None
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    Games & Emulation

The following lists some games screen shots and\or videos released for this system.
System not released as of yet

The following lists links to third party sponsored game emulators
Program Website Description
System not released as of yet
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    Models

The following lists additional authorized releases for this console.
System not released as of yet
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    Clones

The following lists non-licensed additional releases.
System not released as of yet
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    Links

The following sites\resources are highly recommended for this system.  References utilized in compiling this data are denoted with an (#).
Name Website
Phantom Entertainment (formerly Infinium Labs) Home Page http://www.phantom.net/
Ars Technica Article on the Phantom http://arstechnica.com/.../true-infinium-stories-the-73-million-phantom.ars
Hard OCP Article http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NTEy
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visitors since 01-Apr-2008
System page last updated 01-Nov-2008
 

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