Introducing The Phantom Console
Imagine a game console of a high tech design, offering ease of use for the variety of game players worldwide. With an on-demand delivery system that will appeal to hardcore gamers as well as casual users. Including an unique design architecture which allows for delivery of a large number of PC games and the ability to participate in online massive multiplayer gaming..... This was what Infinium Labs promised to deliver with their Phantom game console in 2003 (yeah that's right... 2003)
The New Kid on the Block
In a time that Sony was breaking sales records with their Playstation 2 and Microsoft had introduced their first game console the Xbox, there suddenly emerged a new unknown company promising a console that could do what no other console could do (or has yet been able to).
The Phantom by Infinium Labs was supposed to be a gaming console that had a permanent broadband connection. It didn't use discs or cartridges (like the consoles at that time) but with the broadband connection you were able to purchase digital version of games and play the games online by subscribing to their private network (think Xbox live or PSN).
Most importantly the Phantom was supposed to play PC games offering potential buyers an incredible large game library. Added bonus would be possible ports from other consoles.
Remember, that we are talking about 2003. Netflix was still a young company, Steam was just getting started and console gamers were still getting used to the idea of discs instead of cartridges. You can imagine that the ideas proposed by Infinium Labs were quite revolutionary.
With the launch of the Xbox one Microsoft tried to introduce almost the same functionality as Infinium Labs in 2003, with the exception of being able to play PC games on the console. The always online and games tied to your account features however were met with resistance from the gaming community
If Infinium Labs would be able to pull this off, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony would have a real battle on their hands.
What happened?
The Phantom was basically a PC turned Console but without the benefits of a PC. So the question was who Infinium Labs was targeting? Console owners or PC owners. We know that PC gamers would never settle for a crippled PC solution. On the other hand no console owner or PC gamer would agree to pay a monthly fee for gaming.
But this was not the reason why the Phantom never came to be.
The main reason why the Phantom failed was money. Infinium Labs were unable to raise enough funds to finish the project.
They kept pushing the release date further back and soon the Phantom became the running joke of the gaming community (The name Phantom didn't help things either).
The Phantom console became synonymous for Vaporware. The promises made were never delivered on. The only thing that Phantom Entertainment (Infinium Labs changed their name in 2006) was able to salvage from their misadventure was the Phantom lapboard. A peripheral for the Phantom console that was designed for playing games with a keyboard and mouse from the comfort of your couch.
Ahead of its time?
It is unfortunate that the Phantom did not succeed. I feel like the world was not ready yet for things that Infinium Labs tried to accomplish. If only there was a kickstarter program back then so that Infinium Labs could have funded their project.
In the here and now console gamers have no problem with paying a monthly subscription for access to a gaming network. Digital downloads have become a common thing and widely accepted.
The only thing missing is that we are still not able to play PC games on a console. Perhaps it will never happen, perhaps Valve will make it a reality with their Steam machines.
But I can't help to wonder what would have become of the Phantom console if Infinium labs had been able to launch the Phantom.
Check out this great promotional video for the Phantom showcasing all the the features of the console. The model in the video was later replaced with a much sleeker model.
What do you think of the Phantom Console? Vaporware or a gaming console ahead of its time? let me know in the comment section.
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I haven't thought about this system in years. As a collector, I didn't like the idea of digital distribution then and I'm still not today, but I'll admit this console was definitely ahead of its time. I think its probably a victim of its own ambition.
If they had just waited a few years they could gave funded their project through kickstarter. I would have bought one for sure. Would have been a game changer :)
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I never heard about this, but looking at the concept, photos, design... this was just waaay ahead of its time. It wanted to get rid of physical media in exchange for a montly fee.
More recently we have (had?) OnLive, but even they in a world of broadband, netflix and spotify, have been really successful at this. The virtual console (call it nintendo, psn or xbox live) has achieved "some" success, but still, nowadays to play thos games in the cloud (as Playstation offered with the vita and the ps4) hasn't been a real success.
For real performance, input lag and more, the local hardware must do everything, locally. Infinium Labs might have been able to pull this off back then, but again, the console would become obsolete a couple of years later, as it happens with regular PCs and regular consoles. Would the Phantom be upgradable? Or will the company behind replace it every few years? Will the customer have to pay for this upgrade?
It seems really complicated today, I can't imagine how complicated might have seemed 15 years ago.
I'm no fan of Steam, but their steam machines idea is a more refined concept. And the Steam Link seems like the most we'll be getting for a while. Either that or regular 20mbps connections everywhere, with low latency, for cloud gaming to succeed.