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Pierre-X, Don't underestimate the point of breaking into the mass market. I believe in 3D as well as most people on this board. However, IMO Banshee must break into the OEM market as a standard for the company to secure a stronger Wall Street following and higher valuations. Don't get me wrong, TDFX can do well financially with just the high end 3D graphics. The market will grow and so will their revenue and earnings. However, what will attract the street is a Banshee deal with Compaq, Dell, etc. that involves a board in every PC sold. The V2 announcements are a good first step. Compaq probably won't sell too many of these unless they are real competitive on price or they market it a great deal. I doubt they will do either. However, the best news we could possibly see is if Compaq or Dell were to pick Banshee as their standard 2D/3D card. This would mean more to the valuation of the company than another blowout earnings quarter. Investors are familiar with companies such as Dell and Compaq and most know nothing about TDFX. Such a relationship would increase their visibility to a wider range of investors. I'm looking forward to their Banshee release not because I'm interested in its' technical performance, feature availability, etc. but because I'm trying to gauge the likelyhood of an OEM deal. All this other stuff about Glide, V2, SLI, V3, Branding, etc. are in my mind secondary at this point. I know that financially TDFX may make less money from selling Banshee given all the competition. I know that technical performance/branding will provide more long term value from a consumer/market share perspective. However, all of these assets become more visible when TDFX can be associated with the broader market and not just as a niche player. My biggest fear is that my little fish (TDFX) will get eaten by a slower fatter, bigger fish when I know that it can grow to be one of the biggest fish in the ocean. Have a nice weekend, Joe C. |
