The Video Game Console Library - Infinium Labs Phantom

Infinium Labs Phantom
PROTOTYPE	DW FACTS by Dark Watcher	PROTOTYPE
Page content, development and design by Marriott_Guy

Developer	Manufacturer	Release Date	Country(s)	Initial Price	Model Number	Game Releases	Overall Rating
Infinium Labs	Infinium Labs	Scheduled for Nov-04	N\A	$199.95 USD	N\A	0	N\A
Ratings	Reviews	Pictures\Media	Specs\Manuals	Games\Emulation	Models	Clones	Links

Ratings
Consoles are rated based upon the available technology at the time of its release. Ratings based upon a 10 point scale (10 being excellent\very rare).
Console Design (appearance, functionality)	N\A
Console Durability (sturdy or frail and fragile)	N\A
Controllers (design, response, feel, use)	N\A
Graphics (graphical capability and presentation)	N\A
Audio (sound, music, speech, effects)	N\A
Media (game media format, design, durability)	N\A
Packaging (appeal, durability of packaging)	N\A
Game Library (quality, quantity of game library)	N\A
Innovations (technological industrial strides)	N\A
Gamer Value (good investment for the gamer?)	N\A
Collector Value (good collector investment?)	N\A
Games Rarity (general availability of games)	N\A
Console Rarity (general availability of a system)	N\A

Reviews

Infinium Labs Phantom screenshot

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 som3e 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 and movies on demand, with instant messaging and video conferencing capabilities.

The Phantom Game Receiver (as reported in 2004) 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 80GB), 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 company lacked the financial capital to release this system and has been put to rest. The Phantom, though once promising, will forever go down as one of the premier vaporware consoles.

FACT: The system never saw 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. Please see the Models section below for the original concept.

HANDS ON REVIEW

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

Pictures & Media

Various picture\media for this console. Some pictures courtesy of our friends at Giant Bomb.

The Infinium Labs Lapboard \ Gaming Interface as displayed at E3 2004

Infinium Labs Lapboard

Infinium Labs logo

Some more pictures on both versions of the Phantom console, courtesy of Famitsu.com

Specs & Manuals

For the hardware enthusiasts out there - all the detail you\we love.

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
Digitally Distributed	Varied	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 (2)	Built in Ethernet (DSL or faster)	Four (4) USB 2.0 Ports	Composite, S-Video, Component,
Power Supply - Internal	Other Outputs	Other Details \ Notes
AC 110V, 60Hz (guess)	Audio Optical Out	None

Games & Emulation

Games, media format, emulators and screen shots for titles released on this system.

Infinium Labs Features
Similar to DISCover Technology, the Phantom was developed to be a Plug 'n' Play system for the HD television. Games would be delivered digitally via the Phantom Gaming Service. It was also stated that multi-platform gaming would be possible between the Phantom console and Windows based PCs.

As with the Xbox 360, Sony Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii, game demos would be available for download prior to any actual purchase. This streaming delivery concept has proven to be successful, though Infinium Labs would never capitalize on this innovation.

The Phantom Game Controller and Preferences Screen

Actual screenshots of the Phantom from E3 2004

Third Party Emulators
Program	Website	Description
System was never released.

Models

Additional authorized releases for this console.

Infinium Labs Phantom
Phase One

Infinium Labs Phantom Phase One

Infinium Labs Phantom
Phase Two

Infinium Labs Phantom Phase Two

Clones

Non-licensed releases (clones).

System was never released.

Links

Highly recommended additional sites\resources for this system.

Name	Website	Description
Phantom Entertainment	http://www.phantom.net/	Formerly Infinium Labs Home Page
Game Bump	http://www.gamebump.com/,,,/...phantom_rewound	Nice look back on the Phantom and its travels
Ars Technica	http://arstechnica.com/.../phantom.ars	Article on the Phantom

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Page last updated 11-Dec-2011

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