Now that the dust has settled somewhat and the hype has come and gone, Voodoo 3 is showing signs that it will be huge hit.
Two very large retailers (CompUSA and EB World) have both said that pre-orders are at a record pace. This is especially good news in that both are not discounting their cards. Look for TDFX to give them priority on shipping so that retail margins are preserved.
Argueably, TNT2 is slightly better or worse (I really don't care). What is important is that the board costs more per chip (45 versus mid 30's) and will be out at least 1-2 months later. The other competing cards are also decent but don't pose as much of a threat.
TDFX is going the AOL route - brand versus technology. Interesting article on this topic in the WSJ. Techology guru's doubted they would succeed unless they offered the best technology. AOL proved them wrong. AOL offered the best service, content and branding. TDFX seems to be stealing a page from their book. Focus on Branding (cool ads, cool box w/ no technical gibberish), education (web site explaining basics, focus on the non-tech. guru, etc.), and support. On the support front, TDFX has a significant advantage in that the drivers should be quite stable. STB tech. support people are some of the best when it comes to creating and maintaining stable drivers - experience gathered from supporting the most demanding customers (large OEM's). By the way, I had sent a message through the 3dfx web site complimenting them on the commercial and got an answer back the next day from an STB tech. support person. STB joining TDFX - fits like a glove.
I agree with Patrick that the Wicked3D SLI combination is going to be a non-event. Good hype story but not a real competitive threat to the business.
Given what we've seen so far, the key question is whether 3dfx will be able to produce sufficient chips this quarter to meet the strong demand. Well see. Joe C.
|
