I?ll admit it; I wasn?t expecting to write this story. As much as I?ve been hearing about the Phantom, I?ve always considered it to be a joke. I?ve heard the claims, seen the specs and even saw the pictures but I, like a number of other gamers, have always thought the Phantom was an elaborate smoke and mirrors ploy. Well, it?s not. Not only was I able to see the system hooked up to a TV and running a demo of Unreal Tournament 2004, but I was also able to play it.
For those out of the loop, the Phantom is the newest entry into the gaming console market. Built by Infinium Labs, the Phantom markets itself as the ultimate gaming service.
What sets the Phantom apart from other systems is that it is more of a service than a system, offering an on-demand, online game distribution system. The Phantom allows players to download the hottest games day or night, whenever they want. In addition to merely purchasing games online (and downloading them via the onboard broadband modem), gamers can also download demos of games or rent the full version out to try.
The system?s architecture, which is based on Windows XP, allows developers to easily bring PC titles to the system. Infinium hopes this easy-to-port system will encourage some of the industry?s biggest developers to offer their games in the service.
?With the Phantom Gaming Service, publishers can get a title to gamers within hours of when the gold master is cut,? said Kevin Bachus, President and COO of Infinium Labs. ?They hand us a disc, and we?ll do the rest, making it available to consumers in record time because we don?t have to deal with physical manufacturing and distribution. We can also help publishers get a buzz going with rentals before the title arrives at traditional outlets.?
The system will also allow multiple user profiles, making the service family friendly.
?Everybody loves games, both the casual player and the avid gamer,? said Bachus. ?People my age who grew up playing video games are now starting families of their own and are eager to play together. We?ll have an array of titles, something for everyone? We anticipate that every generation will be fighting over the controllers.?
In addition to multiple profiles, parents will have the option to set up control systems to keep their kids safe from certain games.
The big news is that the system is free. Yeah, that?s right, free. Cell phone users have probably caught on already, but there is a catch to this seemingly great offer. In order to get the system for free, players must sign a two-year contract with Infinium for the Phantom service. The service fee per month is $29.95. The system is also available for purchase for $199 without signing up for a subscription, a fee that will be credited back at the end of two years if the consumer remains a subscriber. Games can be purchased or rented online and are stored in the game?s hard drive. When the HDD approaches capacity, the system will remove the game that was used least recently. If the gamer decides to play that game again, the system will simply re-stream the game back to the hard drive.
The Phantom console comes packaged with a receiver (the console), a controller, a mouse and an innovative new device called the Lapboard. This peripheral is an interesting looking keyboard that allows gamers to adjust the height and angle of the keyboard to comfortably fit in their lap. A mouse pad is cleverly concealed below the Lapboard.
While not completely sold on the system as I am the Nintendo DS, it looks like the Phantom may have a bright future ahead of it if gamers can embrace the service. The Phantom is set to go live November 18, 2004.