🚀 go-pugleaf

pa...@mfltd.co.uk (Paul Spencer) wrote:

>Then I saw the price they want to charge 349 US dollars.

>Shit, that's 50 dollars more than a playstation, and with a
>playstation you get a lot more than just a graphics chip.	

>Is it just me or is this destined to flop as hard as the 3DO blaster
>did ?

My skepticism is pretty healthy too, but I think it will be popular.
First, I wonder if that price is the list price. Second, it's supposed
to come with 6 games, which helps to justify the cost. Third, the
games will have so much graphic detail and so many companies are
already committed to supporting it, everyone with a quickly aging 486
will be sure to get one (even though its not the best technology out
there).

My problems with it are:

1. Not a cutting edge 3D processor like Lockheed-Martin's chip
(750,000 polygons per second) expected in 1996. Creative's chip does
about 200,000 without some of the bells and whistles.

2. Will be released only as a VL bus card targeted at 486s with the
PCI enhanced version shipping *sometime* in 1996.

3. Until Microsoft completes its 3D DDI and Reality Lab API for WIN95,
these different 3D boards are going to be proprietary.

Oh well, probably buy it anyway so that I can play those games. I
wonder what the bundled Magic Carpet Plus will look like with 200,000
polygons in SVGA instead of the 2000 running on my machine?

-Greg Connor