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[Vicious_2003]

The following is from a gameing site that will remian nameless


Apex Digital is planning to unveil a new game console called ApeXtreme at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The console features a 1.4 GHz Via C3 processor, 40 GB hard drive, 256 MB RAM, and a 64 MB DeltaChrome graphics chip by S3. The console will play PC games running on a Windows XP Embedded operating system. Other features include a built-in-modem, Ethernet, four front-side USB ports, MP3, DVD and VCD playback, and a remote control.

The console will be officially unveiled at CES and retail for an estimated $399

The name is just dumb if you ask me but it DOES Sound interesting...what do you guys and gals think ?

[Daedaelus]

It actually sounds stupid, IMHO. Get this, it has a 64MB graphics card, and a measly 256MB of RAM. What the hell is that? What kind of PC games will this "console" be able to play? With games like Half Life 2, HALO, Counter Strike, and other graphically tweaked games emerging, this console will go down the drain quickly. A 1.4GHz processor and a miniscule 256MB of RAM just don't cut it. Think of it like this: I just bought an ATi Radeon 9800 XT, a top of the line graphics card for my PC, which alone has 256MB of RAM, my PC has almost 2 gigs of RAM, and a 2.54 GHz P4, and HALO still lags sometimes. PC technology is a constantly moving force, and this thing won't get very far.

Thanks, but no thanks Apex Digital. I think I'll spend my $300 on something else. Lame.

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Seems alot like the phantom console that was spose to be released. Owell the thing seems like nothing to me anyways.

[Beretta55]

Originally posted by SSSnake

Seems alot like the phantom console that was spose to be released. Owell the thing seems like nothing to me anyways.

Speaking of that.......

Infinium's long-awaited PC game console finally shows itself at CES. First actual photographs inside.

After months of speculation and occasional derision, Infinium Labs has finally unveiled their Phantom PC game console at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Although the presenters never actually turned the machine on, they did display the first physical example of the console for the press to ogle.

The sample Phantom looked much like its concept art, a sleek if not ideally stackable package, with the now-infamous Viking-helmet logo on the front and an impressive array of video, audio, and data connections in the back. Visible were: optical, coax, and RCA audio outputs; S-video, composite, and component video outputs; and 4 USB ports, a 10/100 LAN line, and a cable modem input.

Once rumored to be an elaborate hoax, the Phantom promises to be a "new way to deliver content," according to Infinium Labs. When it eventually becomes available, the console will support regular PC gaming on monitors or televisions, as well as a proposed online game rental service via an "always on" broadband device. The Phantom's proposed technical specs and more information on its capabilities are available on its official Web site, Phantom.net.

They NEVER turned the phantom on so it could of just be a hollow casing box.....who knows.
https://image.com.com/gamespot/images..._screen001.jpg

source:
https://www.gamespot.com/all/news/news_6086244.html

Anyway back on topic i'm most likely going to skip this since 400 dollers is way too steep. if it goes down.......maybe.

[-PSX-]

Unfortuantely neither of these consoles will just cut it. The PC market is moving from olne dimension to the next, constantly being improved. If a games console was released based on a PC it would just not keep up with industry. The main problem is the lack in hardware that would make it work. You would constantly be upgrading it.

The only way around this is with seperate systems likt we all have (Xbox, GC, PS2) as all games are made for THESE in different versions and work only with THESE. PC games are being constantly needing more and more power and hardware power from the consumers unit. If these consoles were ever released they would flag from day one. They are, unfortunatley, impossible.

[kupoartist]

Originally posted by Iguana
Think of it like this: I just bought an ATi Radeon 9800 XT, a top of the line graphics card for my PC, which alone has 256MB of RAM, my PC has almost 2 gigs of RAM, and a 2.54 GHz P4, and HALO still lags sometimes.

remember one thing though: because PC games aren't licensed like Console games, this console doesn't get any revenue from Software sales, therefore it has to balance PC components that someone may want with a budget. Put a Radeon 9800 XT 256 in a $400 console, and you've already taken up nearly all of your budget.

That said, it is a fairly stupid idea to make a PC into a console. The whole appeal of a PC is that it isn't a console if you ask me... though i'd say that it could play most games on the market right now. The only ones it'd have trouble with are Halo and Deus Ex 2, which you'll notice are a bit crap on most machines. But thats a matter of poor optimisation rather than them actually LOOKING good. Another reason why Deus Ex 2 makes me woe the day that the Xbox was invented :anger:

[Preventer Wind]

How many people purchase a new pc every 1-2 years? I know nobody. I think that if someone was to sign a lot of developers so they could make money off software sales they could make a fine machine without making the cost too high.

But those specs are bad. I think that most people who own a computer have better systems then that (if not you need a new one).

You can't blame these people for trying though. It's a multi-billion dollar industry. But to get into it and become a big player means that you have to have a lot of money to take the initial losses or a very original idea.

[kupoartist]

Originally posted by Preventer Wind
How many people purchase a new pc every 1-2 years?

The kind of people who'd do that are more likely to buy new components every 1-2 years. I replace something old and faulty every year, but i've not a had a new PC for about 4 years (and am very unlikely to get one for a long time). Simply throwing the whole PC on the scrapheap for a new HDD, RAM, GFX card and Processor is very bad economy!

Having said that, I do have a friend who has brought new PC everytime he wants a new one... with his parent's money of course. They get his old ones ^_^

[Vicious_2003]

Having said that, I do have a friend who has brought new PC everytime he wants a new one... with his parent's money of course. They get his old ones ^_^

Must be nice

[kupoartist]

Originally posted by Vicious_2003
Must be nice

its kind of useful knowing people with too much money. I "borrowed" his old graphics card for about a year and a half... come to think of it, I still have it in a box somewhere around here (oops... it'll be 2 years before long!)

hmm... i've taken that a bit off-topic though...

[Daedaelus]

Originally posted by Preventer Wind

How many people purchase a new pc every 1-2 years? I know nobody.

*Raises hand*

Well, I try to buy a new one every year anyway. I have a special bank account set aside, in which I keep adding money every month. When I have enough at the end of the year, I buy a new PC, if not, I buy something to upgrade my old one.

[Berserker]

Originally posted by Iguana

*Raises hand*

Well, I try to buy a new one every year anyway. I have a special bank account set aside, in which I keep adding money every month. When I have enough at the end of the year, I buy a new PC, if not, I buy something to upgrade my old one.

Wow, hardcore!!! Nice

[-PSX-]

damn man... but if the ApeXtreme or whatever they call it (its not a very good name) does come out you would seriously have to upgrade it every year - remember the games of 2002 on - thing how they changed and now were only in 2004. I personally dont see the point in this unless its just a moneyspinner.

[Vicious_2003]

but if the ApeXtreme or whatever they call it (its not a very good name) does come out you would seriously have to upgrade it every year

Good point. I wonder if they would market upgraded mother boards/graphix chips for it eventually

[-PSX-]

This from another site that shall remain nameless also...

"The ApeXtreme will run under Windows XP based operating system. When a user puts a game in the machine will run the disc, install it automatically and then run it. The next time it is run, the machine will load the game like a PS2 or an Xbox and shut down normal Windows."

Maybe we won't have to upgrade it. If it shuts down Windows which runs in the background all the power wil be on the game. Secondly, the machine will a 1.2ghz proceesor behind it.

This is from another different nameless site...

We've got a couple of CES items for you that we'll be posting over the weekend. First up, a follow-up to our earlier story about the VIA-powered ApeXtreme Personal Gaming Console and DVD Player. The ApeXtreme PGC has been chosen as the CES 2004 Innovation Award winner--an award of dubious merit, but always one that says a little something about where we're headed technologically. As with so many innovations, what makes the ApeXtreme interesting is its fusion of already available technologies into one product, aka, convergence (the holy word!). Based on the VIA Glory Personal Gaming Console platform, this console will use mostly common tech in order to deliver a "living room priced" level of entertainment.

The S3 Graphics DeltaChrome's powerful DirectX 9.0, Hi Precision programmable architecture featuring 8 Pixel Shader pipelines and 4 Vertex Shaders has positioned the ApeXtreme as the most powerful games console in existence, providing graphics features and performance far exceeding any current game console by an extreme margin. DeltaChrome's Hi-Def native HDTV output enables users to experience richly textured and precision rendered PC game titles at 720p, 1080i or 1080p using YCbCr component video outputs, while the Chromotion programmable video engine brings features like per pixel adaptive de-interlacing to the big screen for a multitude of video media formats.

While PC gamers will quibble over 4 FPS at 1600x1200, VIA has instead looked at the console market for direction. What matters most there is low-cost, portability, and excellent performance at standard TV resolutions. Then they turned to Microsoft's Windows XP Embedded OS to give console owners access to the most popular APIs out there. VIA claims this gives the ApeXtreme 2,500 gaming titles already. DVD, VCD, and audio CD support is also included, but it still remains to be seen if this unit can also run any kind of TiVo-like PVR software. It remains to be seen how "open" the system is, but it sounds like it's as open as any device running Windows XP Embedded would be.

I think this is a pretty cool device, but I expect it to fail. There are a few reasons, and I'll throw one out. Gaming on the PC is different from console gaming, but this device seeks to make PC gaming into a form of console gaming. One of the major differences between the two environments is that game developers who focus on the PC start with the PC, and then adapt those creations for consoles (of course, this happens in reverse for companies who instead focus on console games). The problem is that most PC gamers aren't gaming on the same hardware that they bought three years ago. We incrementally upgrade--a sound card there, a video card here, a $100 CPU upgrade. We know that every year the hardware bar is going to be raised because it can be., and heck, we like it: I like the fact that my base system can be made to play Half-Life 2 (if it ever comes out) the way I want it to, provided I'm willing to make a few upgrades. Consoles are just the opposite: they're stable, persistent environments. How attractive will the ApeXtreme be in two years when the "PC games" that it can run don't look all that great on a system with a 1.4GHz CPU and DeltaChrome at 1080i/p because they were designed not for the ApeXtreme but for an ever-moving "generic hardware base" that the best games utterly ignore anyway?

So... there you go - comments?