Phantom/Infinium discuss "Business Objectives". Combine the fact that Phantom Games will use a Trusted Platform Module with the following Business Description. Is Wavexpress involved? Oh well, if this doesn't involve WAVE I'll promise to cease doing any future DD!!!
"-- Our goal is to capitalize on current inefficiencies in the video gaming market that stem from hardware limitations imposed by the proprietary systems of the dominant video game manufacturers and software limitations attributable to retail marketing limitations and piracy.
-- We plan to create a uniform gaming platform for which game developers can develop games which can, in turn, be safely distributed though a broadband network.
-- The Phantom system differs functionally from other gaming consoles in that it does not use external media to play games. The Phantom only plays content downloaded through our gaming network, it does not use disks, cartridges or other media.
-- The Phantom system is a "family room" unit that is designed to fit in any typical entertainment center and be integrated into a family's home entertainment system.
-- The Phantom Gaming Service is a virtual private gaming network or VPGN designed to allow a consumer to turn on our system and immediately start playing games from our collection. The consumer can access all of this without ever having to go to a store to purchase games.
-- Our subscription-based service differentiates itself by giving consumers several options. Subscribers can demo games before they buy, purchase games-on-demand, and purchase 3-day game rentals. Subscribers will also be able to purchase a perpetual license for their favorite games.
-- When a subscriber selects the desired game, the game will start "streaming" to the subscriber's Phantom over the network, and game play will start.
-- We intend to offer the largest selection of game software available. Because of Phantom's PC architecture, thousands of game titles can be licensed and loaded to Phantom's platform. There is currently a pool of over 30,000 game titles available for this platform.
"As noted in our 8-K filing, the most important aspect of our service is that it is a `private' network. As such, it is designed to be able to be accessed only by subscribers though our Phantom systems. The Phantom system is designed as a 'closed box' so that it cannot be breached externally, and will contain a series of authentication protocols to maintain privacy over our network. The security of our network is an essential element of our service to protect game content from piracy."
Infinium Labs Announces Business Objectives Following Merger; Cites Commitment to Launching Fastest Gaming System on the Market Tuesday January 20, 6:54 pm ET
SARASOTA, Fla., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Infinium Labs, Inc., (OTC Bulletin Board: IFLB - News), an innovative entertainment and interactive gaming company, announced today its business objectives following the completion of its recent merger. Information about Infinium and the merger was detailed in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as of Tuesday, January 20, 2004. "Quite simply, Infinium is committed to launching the fastest gaming system," stated Timothy M. Roberts, the chief executive officer of Infinium. "We have assembled a stellar group of industry executives with extensive experience in interactive media, entertainment and technology who have combined their considerable talents to create and launch the Phantom Gaming Service." With the approaching launch of this highly robust, next-generation gaming and delivery Service, we are announcing our business objectives:
-- Our mission is to provide users with the ultimate gaming experience by developing a leading edge video gaming system and an online gaming service that provides on-demand access to an extensive selection of games and interactive entertainment via a broadband Internet connection.
-- We believe that we are positioned to be a leader in the "pervasive gaming/interactive entertainment" market by introducing, marketing and selling the first combination gaming console and broadband gaming network.
-- Our goal is to capitalize on current inefficiencies in the video gaming market that stem from hardware limitations imposed by the proprietary systems of the dominant video game manufacturers and software limitations attributable to retail marketing limitations and piracy.
-- We plan to create a uniform gaming platform for which game developers can develop games which can, in turn, be safely distributed though a broadband network.
We plan to achieve our business objectives through our gaming system which is comprised of two components: the Phantom Gaming System(TM) and PhantomNet VPGN(TM). The Phantom Gaming System(TM) is the console used by a consumer to play games, and the PhantomNet VPGN(TM) is our broadband network through which consumers access gaming content. We plan to roll-out our system to over 100 beta testers during the first quarter of 2004. Some of the fundamental characteristics of the components of our system are outlined below:
-- The Phantom system differs functionally from other gaming consoles in that it does not use external media to play games. The Phantom only plays content downloaded through our gaming network, it does not use disks, cartridges or other media.
-- The Phantom system is a "family room" unit that is designed to fit in any typical entertainment center and be integrated into a family's home entertainment system.
-- The Phantom Gaming Service is a virtual private gaming network or VPGN designed to allow a consumer to turn on our system and immediately start playing games from our collection. The consumer can access all of this without ever having to go to a store to purchase games.
-- Our subscription-based service differentiates itself by giving consumers several options. Subscribers can demo games before they buy, purchase games-on-demand, and purchase 3-day game rentals. Subscribers will also be able to purchase a perpetual license for their favorite games.
-- When a subscriber selects the desired game, the game will start "streaming" to the subscriber's Phantom over the network, and game play will start.
-- We intend to offer the largest selection of game software available. Because of Phantom's PC architecture, thousands of game titles can be licensed and loaded to Phantom's platform. There is currently a pool of over 30,000 game titles available for this platform.
James Roberts, chief marketing officer of Infinium, concluded, "As noted in our 8-K filing, the most important aspect of our service is that it is a `private' network. As such, it is designed to be able to be accessed only by subscribers though our Phantom systems. The Phantom system is designed as a 'closed box' so that it cannot be breached externally, and will contain a series of authentication protocols to maintain privacy over our network. The security of our network is an essential element of our service to protect game content from piracy."
Phantom/Trusted Platform Module and INTEL. A few days I discussed the fact that Phantom would be using the Trusted Platform Module in their upcoming Phantom Game Console. I also discussed that the new CEO by the name of Bachus was the founding member of the MS Xbox project.
"The Phantom console extends this concept with: Public/private keys Zero knowledge proofs Trusted platform module Digital rights management See the Security document in the SDK for more information."
I also recently discovered PHANTOM on the INTEL Web Page under the INTEL DEVELOPER Section:
'Phantom' game console is really a copyright protection device Thursday July 10, 2003 - [ 08:20 AM GMT ] Topics: Games , E-business
- By Robin 'Roblimo' Miller -
Let's start by saying the console is real, not vaporware. I've seen a working prototype in action. Inside the spacy-looking case it's just a PC running Windows XP that has no CD or floppy drive, and uses a proprietary encryption scheme for data stored on its hard drive.
Now imagine Roberts the family man and Roberts the expert on secure Internet information delivery occupying one single body, postulate a growing number of U.S. households with broadband Internet connections, with broadband ISPs hungry to deliver more services so they can grab more customers, especially services for which they can charge a premium over and above their basic monthly access fees -- services like downloadable games -- and suddenly you are looking at a potentially huge business opportunity.
Except for piracy.
Sure, the publishers of the tens of thousands of games that aren't sold at stores like Circuit City, Fry's or Best Buy would like to find a nice online way to distribute their products that wouldn't cost as much as traditional retail channels, but they worry about all the game-copiers and software sharers out there who would post any kind of 'unlock' keys needed to play downloadable versions of their offerings on the Internet, in effect making those games free to use for anyone who doesn't respect game developers' intellectual property rights.
So if you're Tim Roberts, you offer all those game publishers the same 99.999% security you offered Wall Streeters shipping critical financial data across the Net, and you claim you've gotten huge mega-interest from at least 500 game publishers, even though (for confidentiality reasons) Roberts says he can't tell us quite yet who any of these game publishers are, except to hint with one word: "Unreal!"
All game keys are held on Infinium Labs' servers, so even if the kind of people who do Xbox mods do their thing on a Phantom, they won't be able to play games for free, unless they're some of the many "play before you buy" trials Roberts plans to offer or some of the games that might be included with the $9.95 per month (or whatever; this is still being worked out) extra fee you pay your broadband ISP for access to Infinium Labs' game library, which Roberts confidently predicts will be one of the largest in the world, not only because the Phantom will play any game that will run on Windows XP, but because Infinium plans to offer developers help in porting games originally written for dedicated consoles to the Phantom (really Windows XP) platform.
There's no reason Infinium Labs shouldn't get hundreds or thousands of game developers to sign up; if the developers offer their games through this service and no one buys, they lose nothing, while, Roberts says, each paid download will net them more than they would get from a traditional in-a-box retail sale, assuming they could get their products on store shelves in the first place. In fact, there is no reason for Infinium Labs not to offer games from new, unknown developers much the way MP3.com and other online music services offer less-known musicians a distribution channel they didn't have before it became possible to download music over the Internet.
Except, of course, Infinium Labs hopes to eliminate the online file sharing that has spooked the music industry so badly.
I asked Roberts, more than once, how long he really expected it to take, in days or weeks, for his system's security to be broken. He responded by saying that Bunny Huang and other well-known security gurus are advising Infinium Labs, and pointed to his own experience providing secure Internet-based communications to the financial services industry.
And besides, Roberts believes, even if a few fringe people manage to grab a few games somehow, they aren't going to affect the vast majority of users, who will happily pay for their subscriptions.
Then there's the security question. Is that dedicated PC with so many features disabled really necessary? Couldn't a nearly-as-good level of anti-copying protection be achieved at much lower cost purely through software? Won't Palladium essentially make the Phantom unit itself obsolete? And couldn't the same privacy and control-over-your-own-equipment concerns that cause many consumers to balk at the idea of "Trusted Computing" that assumes consumers are not to be trusted become a significant sales barrier?
How about competition? Couldn't someone else come up with a slightly less secure but much less expensive online game delivery system that could be sold directly to consumers instead of through ISPs?
And thinking of competition, couldn't another company that is less security-obsessed, but charges lower commissions to game publishers, take away market share in a hurry, assuming game publishers are willing to accept (possibly) a small amount of file sharing in return for a higher share of net user fees -- and a potentially much larger market if this theoretical competitor didn't require customers to purchase (or possibly lease) a specialized, locked-down computer that costs as much as a "real" one that can also be used for kid homework, adult office work, and other non-game tasks?
The beta program may help Infinium Labs learn
The next stage in the rollout is a beta test that's supposed to start this fall with between 100 and 300 testers. "We want beta testers who are hackers and crackers who will try everything to get around our security," Roberts said when we talked.
Don't bother to apply. The company has over 17,000 applicants already, in large part due to these Slashdot mentions.
Perhaps in the course of the beta program the Phantom console itself will prove to be unnecessary. Or perhaps its cool looks will awe everyone who sees it in person so much that it'll become the next living room "must have" for prosperous suburban families.
For whatever it's worth, and no matter how the beta test and subsequent full-scale product rollout goes, Infinium Labs is pioneering a new way to hook game-eager customers up with sales-eager game developers. Whether this company succeeds or fails, the idea of online retail game delivery is sure to stay with us, and -- in one form or another -- will almost certainly replace the idea of PC and console games being physical things that are only sold in plastic packages through traditional retail channels.
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