Phantom taking one more step away from Vaporware?

spaghetti · Post by **spaghetti** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 6:49 pm

http://pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,112061,00.asp

Veggita2099 · Post by **Veggita2099** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 7:37 pm

Sounds stupid to make a console that ONLY plays downloaded games. Just about any game on a console now adays is AT LEAST 1 gig or larger, and even a person with a cable connection don't want to spend time downloading THAT big of a game. And of course if they make small easier to download games there just going to be of lesser quality then the average xbox/gc/ps2 game. If that is the case the specs they promise will be of complete waste.

In any case I won't buy one.

Pyrosurfer · Post by **Pyrosurfer** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 8:29 pm

Downloading wouldn't be a problem for me as long as the server is fast because my cable is 300Kilobytes/s.But what if your phantom breaks, could you download it again? This downloading games thing is very stupid because it totally eliminates potential 56k customers. In 20 or so years this will probably be the way all systems will be. Of course I won't be buying one either.

finite · Post by **finite** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 9:16 pm

I take it none of the US cable companies enforce download limits? Sure I could download games nice and fast, but I've got 3000MB per month, and every MB over that costs AU$0.139. Downloading games instead of purchasing CDs/DVDs is a nice idea, but until broadband (and I mean REAL broadband, not 256/512kbit/s ADSL) is common place and ridiculous download caps are lifted, it won't become a reality.

Wagh · Post by **Wagh** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 9:37 pm

well if their download time for their video is any judge for how downloading games will be .....

Pyrosurfer · Post by **Pyrosurfer** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 9:56 pm

I don't have any caps. I think they put caps on dsl in america, never heard of cable caps.

Wagh · Post by **Wagh** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 9:58 pm

There's caps on both.. just depends on the isp...

Wasgo · Post by **Wasgo** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 9:58 pm

This will obviously work. I remember how Sega Channel allowed Sega to blow all the other gaming companies out of the water...oh wait...it didn't.

Lartrak · Post by **Lartrak** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 10:37 pm

I would never buy a download only game. It means that in 10 years when the system is long dead, if anything happens to the HD it is just gone forever. I hate the idea.

Wagh · Post by **Wagh** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 10:40 pm

Wasgo wrote:This will obviously work. I remember how Sega Channel allowed Sega to blow all the other gaming companies out of the water...oh wait...it didn't.

sega channel r0cked plain and simple... but its not like these games are going to be original or anything.. just play the pc versions -_-

Wasgo · Post by **Wasgo** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 10:53 pm

Lartrak wrote:I would never buy a download only game. It means that in 10 years when the system is long dead, if anything happens to the HD it is just gone forever. I hate the idea.

I can't wait until someone makes a Phantom virus. Maybe one that overwrites the whole system with Pong. Then I'd buy a Phantom.

gamedudex · Post by **gamedudex** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 12:15 am

why knock the system.. we never seen it in action.. and knoew very little about it.. the cost... the games that will be made for it.. not jus the pc ports for it.... we have nothing.. until we play with it.. don't judge..

wow i can't beive someone has download caps on broadband internet...

i download like more than 3 gigs a day at times..... sometimes more.. i uaualy have like 60 or more things downloading at once

Post by **melancholy** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 12:32 am

gamedudex wrote:why knock the system.. we never seen it in action.. and knoew very little about it.. the cost... the games that will be made for it.. not jus the pc ports for it.... we have nothing.. until we play with it.. don't judge..

We're not knocking the system. In fact, from what the site says, it will have a 3ghz processor, some high end nVidia card, and a 100 gig hard drive. That's some high specs for a console. So it's has potential to pump out some kickass gaming power.

What we are knocking is the way we access the games. First, you have to pay $50 for a game you will never physically own. But if that weren't enough, you have to pay a $10 monthly subscription. Now, for online gaming support, that's no biggie, since it would basically be like Xbox Live support. However, you are not just paying to play the games online. Your paying to have the ability to download the game. So basically your paying $10 a month just to be able to buy games.

It's kinda like having to pay admission to get inside Electronic Boutique, then buying a game but not being allowed to take it outside the store.

slpknt6009 · Post by **slpknt6009** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 12:55 am

what it is, is you pay 10 a month to "rent" 5-7 games, then when that months over with, you can trade them with other games, or you can keep the games for another month. then if you REALLY like the game, you can pay the extra money, and downlaod it for good. then you can replace that game you were "renting" with another. of course, that is only me repeating what electronic gaming monthly said, so........ the thing i am wondering about is how you would get the manuals for it, i am sure they will be included in the download packet, but i would rather read it whenever i want to, not when i am infront of the tv.

either way, im still interested and am questioning if i should get it.

gamedudex · Post by **gamedudex** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 12:56 am

games will probably be less than 50 a month though.. since they don't have to go to the expense of pakaging and crap.

gamedudex · Post by **gamedudex** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 12:57 am

also thos feew will probably be cheaper i you get a year pakage or 6 month instead of monthley

zickfun · Post by **zickfun** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 1:23 am

in australia broadband sux everything is capped or if you go over you switch to 28.8 on cable.

the only unlimited reasonable priced broadband is 256/64kb ADSL the 512/256kb ADSL cost about $20.aus more then the norm $65

slpknt6009 · Post by **slpknt6009** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 2:24 am

i have roadrunner wich is a steady 300kb/s, and have downloaded 60gigs plus in the past 3 months, and have posted 10-20 gigs of stuff and have yet to get a notice, or anything from the cable company ( i am even using roadrunners usenet service and its not edited, and i have yet to find a newsgroup that it doesnt have). and i pay $40 a month. however, my upload speed is capped at 40-45 kb/s. but i heard that upload speeds being capped is nothing new, and that most isp's do.

finite · Post by **finite** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 5:23 am

I've always been and presumably still am capped at 15 kb/s upstream. Not that I've tried it recently, seeing as uploads also count to the cap. zickfun, I'd prefer going back to 28.8k once I exceed my limit rather than being charged an additional $80 for going over by a few hundred meg. Simply can't get Optus in my area, no overhead cables. (Telstra, my provider, has a monopoly over the underground cabling system, seeing as they were and still are (to an extent) government owned.)

Otherwise, can't complain about the cable service. Plenty of game/file servers that don't count to the cap, mostly with sub-15ms pings, and uptime is actually good now. Pity about the price. And the cap. And.. well.. everything else.

Anyway, that's my Australian broadband rant over with for now. Anyone want to drag this back on-topic?

slpknt6009 · Post by **slpknt6009** » Tue Aug 19, 2003 11:45 am

gamedudex wrote:games will probably be less than 50 a month though.. since they don't have to go to the expense of pakaging and crap.

once you pay the 50, then you own the game, you can say it is yours, and you nolonger have to worry about paying for it. and the 9.95 a month i dont think is a bad price, condisering what other online gaming rental services charge ( i think the service will be something simialr to NETFlix, you pay to get the stuff, and when you get it, as long as you keep paying the monthy subscription, then you can keep it as long as you want, or you can trade it in for another item)