Eeack...urgh...the ph..phantom...

[Scythemantis]

Has there been a thread devoted to this thing?

Well it certainly "deserves" one. For everyone who SOMEHOW has not heard of it:

This $200 system, hailed by its creators as "THE REVOLUTION IN GAMING" plays games entirely without discs or cartridges. It simply downloads them over a broadband connection while you play for $30 a month. You must sign up for a minimum two-year plan, so that totals in at $720 for a system who's games you cannot literally own.

Here's the initial selection

Publisher - 3D Groove

9mm
Alien X
Death From Above
Nothin' But Net
Piscean
Sky Racer
Tank Wars
Turkey Farm


Publisher - 3DO

Vegas Games 2000
Army Men
Army Men II
Arcomage
Army Men 3 Toys in Space
Army Men RTS
Gulf War Operation Desert Hammer
Heroes of Might and Magic
Heroes of Might and Magic II Gold
Might and Magic I Secret of the Inner Sanctum
Might and Magic II Gates to Another World
Might and Magic III Isles of Terra
Might and Magic IV Clouds of Xeen
Might and Magic V Darkside of Xeen


Publisher - Aidem Games

Codename Silver


Publisher - Alawar Entertainment

Beetle Ju
Color Eggs
Double Digger
Elite Jigsaw Puzzles
Gold Sprinter
Grand Master Chess
Metamorphs
Pacmania II
Tetris 4000
Wave Ball


Publisher - ASAP Games

Pearl Harbor Zero Hour
Rook's Revenge


Publisher - Astromanic Studios

Chomp Chomp
Flip Wit!


Publisher - Atari

Monopoly Tycoon
RollerCoaster Tycoon
RollerCoaster Tycoon 2
Backyard Basketball
Backyard Hockey
Deer Hunter 2004
Pro Bass Fishing
Season Ticket Basketball 2003
European Air War
Neverwinter Nights
Addiction Pinball
Dirt Track Racing 2
Test Drive
Test Drive 6
Outcast
Pacific Gunner
Deadly Dozen
Combat
Slave Zero
Beach Head 2002
Action Man
America's Greatest Solitaire
Atari 85 in 1
Atari Classic Arcade
B17 Flying Fortress
Backyard Baseball 2003
Backyard Baseball 2005
Backyard Soccer 2004
Big Thinkers Kindergarten
Bingo Bingo Bingo
Break Out
Candy Land Adventure
Carnivores Cityscape
Carnivores Ice Age
Castles and Catapults
Chutes and Ladders
Civ III Conquests
Civ III Gold
Civilization 3
Civilization II Test of Time
Civilization III Game of the Year
Clue - Murder at Boddy Mansion
Dead Mans Hand
Deadly Dozen 2 Pacific Theater
Deer Hunter 2
Deer Hunter 5
Dirt Track Racing Pinball
Dirt Track Racing Sprint Cars
Driver 3
Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise
Freddi Fish 1 - The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds
Freddi Fish 2 - The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse
Freddi Fish 3 - The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell
Freddi Fish 4 - The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch
Freddi Fish and Luther's Water Worries
Gothic 2
Gunship
Let's Explore the Airport
Let's Explore the Farm
Line of Sight Vietnam
Magic the Gathering: Battlegrounds
Majesty
Master of Orion 3
Mech Warrior 3
Monopoly
Monopoly 3
Monopoly Casino Vegas Edition
Monopoly Junior
Monopoly, Yahtzee and Scrabble 2 Game Pack
Neverwinter Nights Gold
Neverwinter Nights Hords of the Underdark
Operation
Pajama Sam No Need to Hide
Pajama Sam Sock Works
Pajama Sam's Lost and Found
Pearl Harbor Defend the Fleet
Police Tactical Training
Pro Bass Fishing 2003
Putt Putt and Pep's Balloon-O-Rama
Putt Putt Goes to the Moon
Putt Putt Joins the Parade
Putt Putt Saves the Zoo
Putt Putt Travels Through Time
Putt-Putt Enters the Race
Robot Arena 2 Design & Destroy
Roller Coaster 2 Time Twister Expansion Pack
Rollercoaster Tycoon Loopy Landscapes Expansion Pack
Season Ticket Football 2003
Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas
Spy Fox in Dry Cereal
Spy Fox Operation Ozone
Steel Tide
Temple of Elemental Evil
Terminator 3, war of the machines
Test Drive Off-Road 3
Tonka Construction 2
Tonka Monster Trucks
World Class Bowling
X-Com Enforcer
X-Com Interceptor
Yahtzee
Zapper One Wicked Cricket


Publisher - Capcom

Dino Crisis 2
Dino Crisis
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Mega Man X3
Mega Man X5
Capcom Arcade Classics
Mega Man X Legends
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo


Publisher - Cognitoy

Mind Rover


Publisher - Compedia

Invention Highway - Professional Addition
The Puzzling Time Quest


Publisher - DigitalFusion

Beach Head 2000
Real Pool
Sleep Walker


Publisher - Div Games Studios

Mega Man X


Publisher - Disney

Cinderella's Dollhouse
Lilo & Stitch - Trouble in Paradise
Lilo & Stitch Hawaiian Adventure
Treasure Planet Battle at Procyon


Publisher - Disney Interactive

Ultimate Ride


Publisher - eBrainy

Balloon Kaboom and Balloon Kaboom Challenge
Charmed and Gonzo Heads
Darts
Maze Cube
Miner Max
Puzzle 21
Sunken Treasure


Publisher - eGames

Blast Thru
Mahjongg Master 4
Mahjongg Master Egyptian Edition
Minigolf Master 2
Penguin Puzzle
Puzzle Master 3
Solitaire Master 3
Speedy Eggbert
Wild Wheels


Publisher - Epie Games

Balloon Wolffy
Parawolffist
Piggy Police
Vietnam War Ho Chi Minh Trail
Winging Wolffy
Wolffy UFO


Publisher - Europress

Fun School 7


Publisher - Fasttrak

DarkBASIC Lite
Paint by Numbers
Puzzle Madness
Starwraith 3 Shadows of Orion
Stitch Designer


Publisher - Full Armor Studios

The Walls of Jericho


Publisher - Funkitron

Cascade
Dicey


Publisher - Fusion Games

Beach Head Desert War (Includes Level Editor)


Publisher - GameBubbles

Brave Dwarves 2
JokenPo
KoKo Arena


Publisher - Gamehouse

Super Candy Cruncher
Super GameHouse Solitaire 2
Super Letter Linker
Super PileUp!
Super Pop & Drop


Publisher - Gathering

Stronghold: Crusader
Tropico
Stronghold
Mafia
Nocturne
Oni
Rune


Publisher - GT Interactive

Driver
Powerslide


Publisher - Guillotine

Piposh Hollywood


Publisher - Hasbro Interactive

Risk II
Diplomacy
Risk
Scrabble
Boggle
Sorry!
Outburst
The Game of Life
Slingo
Missile Command
Centipede


Publisher - Hexacto

Emperor's Mahjong
Hard Rock Casino
Kasparov Chessmate
Lemonade Tycoon
Pop's Pipes
Slurp


Publisher - Hipsoft

Five Card Frenzy
Lucky Streak Poker


Publisher - Hoplite Research

World War II: Frontline Command
Pro Drag Racing
Freewheelin' USA
Kart Racing


Publisher - Interactive Ent.

Cue Club
Super 1 Karting


Publisher - Just Flight

World Airliners


Publisher - KD-Labs

Spanking Runners


Publisher - Ki Design/Bruce Wilcox

Ego


Publisher - Large Animal Games

Alpha Queue
Unipong

Wow.

There's maybe fifteen games in there that aren't complete and utter bargain-bin garbage, and most are *PS1* capcom titles.

(From another forum I visit: )

"The only way the phantom can get any worse is if someone opens up the case and a dead baby flops out."

[PNT510]

Wow, this is gonna be the best system ever. Sign me up for 3 of them pls.

[Lezta]

Shame it doesn't exist really.

[Yoh Asakura]

Shame it doesn't exist really.

I thought it was at E3?

[Andrew]

It technically "Was" at e3, but it wasn't. You couldn't actually play or anything. Just kind of sit around and talk about how cool it will be. Then they shot you in the head if you mentioned something about it not existing, then they hauled your dead ass outta there and dumped it into the booth where the people make those Army Men games.

The dudes that make the games then think its popular and make more. See how the gaming world goes around?

[Yoh Asakura]

Army Men.. God.. they could of made a decent game outta that idea. But no, they'd rather churn out god knows how many of those crappy games.

[RedStarWarrior]

Heh. I don't really feel like being mean right now, but it sucks.

[GreenShirT]

Heard about it ages ago, biggest load of BS ever!

[Heald]

It does suck. It will flop. This has got to be the biggest console disaster since the Virtual Boy.

[Yoh Asakura]

It does suck. It will flop. This has got to be the biggest console disaster since the Virtual Boy.

I thought that was the NGage.

[Heald]

No, because technically the N-Gage isn't a console.

[dracox]

http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Sto...2151.43394.htm

videos for all you nonbelievers

[PhatZapdos]

looks pretty fruity to me =\

i can tell its gonna flop

[Red Angel]

It does suck. It will flop. This has got to be the biggest console disaster since the Virtual Boy.

No, because the Virtual Boy is actually better, since you can at least own the games.

[ace]

Aaaahhhhhhh, that's so much money for such p*ss poor games which you can't even own, and I bet the broadband connection costs aswell. £200! £720 to play that, for two years. Almost £1000 for games you can own for about £2 with a cheap psone or Gameboy. You can get free games better than this... I am about to be sick....biggest flop ever...I just feel sorry for the a little kid who might want this... and his parents... .

[The Muffin Man]

Great idea, horrible follow through..."Hey! Let's make people pay us lots of money, not explain ONCE how our system works beyond 'Don't register and get your money back or maybe not but buy games for somewhere between $.01 and $4000' and then KEEP feeding them bullshit about our amazing line-up of THREE TRILLION ****ING ARMY MEN GAMES"

I hope the Phantom sucks them into a pit of lost souls so we never have to hear about this **** again. What the **** were they smoking when they thought of this thing.

[Drago]

Umm, why? Simply put, that's one abysmal idea. I fail to see any positive points to this 'revolution in gaming'. In fact, the scariest thought is if it is successful, and every other gaming company chooses to do the same. lol! The best I can think of is, perhaps it could be considered an incredibly expensive 'rent-a-game' system. ^^;

Though I must admit, it's quite aptly named. Turn your back for just a bit, and suddenly your money has vanished! That's the power of The Phantom. Buy yours today! Or two, or twelve!

[phaedrus]

I thought that was the NGage.

No, because technically the N-Gage isn't a console.

sidetalkin'

i win this topic *topic ribbon*

oh yea Phantom will suck ass. trust me.

[PhatZapdos]

whoever actually bought an n-gae deserves to be beaten over the head with a big, blunt object :|

[Scythemantis]

I cringe and feel like crying at the thought of anyone's family member giving them a phantom as a gift or something.

[Heald]

Anyone who buys either the Phantom or the N-Gage deserve to be publically whipped then shot in the knees with a sawn-off shotgun.

[Yoh Asakura]

Ya know, I've never actually seen anybody buy one or use one, and I shop a lot for a guy so I see a lot of people ~.~ eveybody has a flip phone, like me =]

[Amethyst Flygon]

What's even scarier is some of the selection that is available besides Army Men. Notice the large amounts of Putt-Putt games. I remember my Putt-Putt computer games from when I was five years old. For all purposes, they were games about a purple car named Putt-Putt in which you solved incredibly simple puzzles. It's like Whinne the Pooh or Teletubbies. What kind of five year old would own such an expensive system?

[Sarcastic Assassin]

I swear to God, I will shove the Phantom up your ass if I find out you bought one. If you think about buying one, I'll steal one and shove it up your ass.

The concept is flawed. The Phantom's essentially a slightly beefed up (in terms of hardware), stripped down (in terms of software) computer. For $200, I'd buy the latest graphics card, and maybe a game. Or, I'd play an RPG for a year or something. And, it doesn't even have the latest games. (ie, Halo, Max Payne, Vice City, etc.)

[PhatZapdos]

Oh! But U Forget, The Phantom Has All Those Army Men Games :-o




:|

[PNT510]

And backyard baseball!!!!!

[ace]

whoever actually bought an n-gae deserves to be beaten over the head with a big, blunt object :|

You could use the n-gage

[PhatZapdos]

You could use the n-gage

[The Muffin Man]

Oh! But U Forget, The Phantom Has All Those Army Men Games :-o




:|

I'm still waiting for "Army Men: With camels!"

or was it changed to "Sarges Desert Assault"?