| Infinium Labs has finally lauched its gaming console, codenamed Phantom. These consoles will be available starting November 18, 2004. As a marketing campaign and to interest potential customers, Infinium Labs has decided to give away free Phantom consoles as long as the consumer is willing to sign the service contract for two years.
Infinium is currently showcasing the Phantom console at the on-going E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) in Los Angeles, California. The company showcased the prototype of the gaming console at CES this year, which frustrated many gamers who were planning to purchase the box. Infinium has missed many due dates before they finally announced the Phantom.
The Phantom computer is mainly a mid-end computer box with 40GB HDD, Phantom Receiver made by Taiwanese manufacturer Biostar Microtech International, 256MB System Memory, AMD 2500+ Barton CPU with 512KB L2 cache, Nvidia GFX 5700 Ultra GPU on Nvidia's nForce 2 400 Ultra based Platform.
The games will be stored onto the hard drive and will also be managed via the company's online service. If the storage options gets limited, the less frequently played games will be removed, therefore, allowing more space for more games. If the user wants to play the game that has been removed from the hard drive, it will be automatically downloaded back for no charge.
Phantom will also come with a standard keyboard, mouse, and a Phatom Gamepad. According to the company, the Phantom Gamepad will allow users to play games that are originally intended to be played via a keyboard and a mouse.
The console will connect to the TV and a broadband line for game play. The console is more of a mid-end computer, although much better than Via's gaming console, which was announced at CES 2004.
The monthly service costs $29.99 and comes with few games when the contract is signed. Later, games can be rented or purchased via the internet connection. In comparison, Xbox Live charges are $49.99 per year with a $69.99 start-up kit. Those who are not willing to sign the two year service contract can
purchase the receiver for $199.99 and the price will be credited back to the account in two years.
Infinium will undoubtedly face strong competition in the console gaming market.
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