Sun Tzu: Banshee and TNT working together?
I read somewhere that someone has come up with a way to get TNT and Banshee work together.
I think what you're thinking of is the digital pass-thru between the Canopus TNT and their Voodoo2.
I don't buy the arguement that "I don't want one of my products to steal sales from the other one". One way or another you are going to face competition and advance technology. You might as well get that competition from yourself rather than another company.
I agree. I don't see Banshee that way. Its only innovation is the addition of 2D. It's not the next generation, it's a cheap version of the current generation targeted at OEMs. It'll get some retail support too, but I don't think think they're staying up nights worrying that they'll sell more Banshees in retail than Voodoo2.
I think they're very wise to split their product line in two. An innovative product for the retail market (Voodoo2) and a derivative product (Banshee) that comes out later and captures a good chunk of the OEM market.
This discussion was really about marketing rather than technology. So if 3Dfx really made Banshee for OEM and could not have cared less about marketing it to retail channel, then why the OEMs have not lined up in hordes to buy into Banshee? I hear that OEM decisions are made in advance of chip productions and that Banshee is now in full production. Yet only one OEM has agreed to use Banshee and two others are just debating if they should buy into it.
Actually, that refers only to STB Banshee cards. One OEM definitely, and two more looking. But what if Creative captured one of those other two? The question posed in the STB CC was something like "What kind of OEM deals are in the works for Banshee?" What could they say if Creative got one contract?
I consider this a serious marketing flop. If they had done their job right, some OEMs and card makers would simply trust that whatever comes from 3Dfx is worth carrying and would have announced support for Banshee way before it was even a prototype.
What possible advantage would this bring to the OEM who followed your advice? They want to see a working product in useful quantities before they put their cash on the barrelhead. If they'd had 2D/3D cards from 3Dfx in the past maybe they could announce a strategic partnership or something. Committing in advance would just drive up the price. And remember, they're not dealing directly with 3Dfx, so much as with STB, Creative, and maybe others.
Not to mention that time to production sucked; If they'd come up with Banshee 4~6 weeks sooner they'd catch the back-to-school market. Since they missed on that opportunity, they may as well have taken another few weeks and improved on it for the Christmas season.
Would you really be happy if they'd announced a delay? Remember, from the time that they rescheduled both the Voodoo2 and the Banshee (reversing their release order) Banshee has not been delayed. What implications does that have for future OEM deals? Who in this business hits their release targets with that precision? Nobody but 3Dfx.
Also, there are OEM product cycles to account for. Having it done now is just in time for Christmas. There's no "few weeks" of leeway. Having it ready for back to school cycle would have meant having it ready a full cycle before the christmas cycle, not two weeks ago.
Simon
Don't lose heart, man! They're doing it just right in my opinion. |
