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Technology Stocks : 3DFX -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ken who wrote (1275)	1/15/1998 4:42:00 PM
From: Tunica Albuginea	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 16960

In response to the recent threat of intels new chip. This is a response I made back in the initial days of this thread. Some of you may remember, some may not, but I think it is still pertenent to the present situation, especially the part about Intuit. I pasted the whole article for the sake of saving time, because i must run, but here it is: It is interesting to see how many people tremble at the mere anticipationof Intel's entrance into the 3D chip market. Unfortunately (as I learned in my macroecon class), anticipation of an event often results in more "heartache" than the event itself. Such is the situation we are presented with here. Yes, the mighty Intel may enter the market. And for investors who sit in front of the ticker-tape machine all day, this may seem important. But fortunately, the 3D-fx company does not have to rely on these people for their sales/profits. Serious gamers (both PC and console) know who makes the best chips and upgrade boards. People who buy Packard-Bell computers at Best Buy are not the main focus of such specialized upgrade boards. These people often believe that by plugging thier computers into a power outlet, they are connected to the internet. They are the ones who made the "Dummy" books so popular. From all of the 3D chips I've seen (3D-fx, S3 Virge, Hercules, Matrox), the 3Dfx chip is by far the best. S3 does well because, as stated by another user, it is highly established through hardware deals with companies such as Toshiba. But as seen in Next Generation, people who PLAN to upgrade (i.e. people who know how to remove boards from thier computers and how to install new ones-signifying computer proficiency) plan on upgrading to the 3D-fx board. A few years ago, Microsoft tried to enter the home-finance market with their "Microsoft Money" product. Up against it was Intuit, a small corporation without all of Microsoft's clout. But fortunately, Intuit had something in thier favor-a good product. It's users knew this, as did sales people in the software stores. When Microsoft Money failed to out sell "Quicken", Microsoft announced it's intention to merge with Intuit. At this point, the FTC stepped in to prevent a market monopoly. This is just one example set by a small company fighing off a big one. Another user was sure that in the future, all chips may be incoporated on to one board (as was the case with Intel's floating-point math chip). While that may be the case, SERIOUS PC users will continue to purchase separate upgrade boards for the same reason car owners buy non-GM parts for their Blazers. Smaller companies who specialize in PC upgrade boards inevitably make a better product than a large computer superpower such as Intel. One last not, it is important to take into consideration the fact that 3DFX already has the market share. When people think "Intel" they dont think 3D, they think microprocessor, if theyt know anything at all. If you are not familiar with how popular 3DFX is, pick up any computer magaizine an look for the logo. On the same toke, play any 3D game, and in the options you will usually see the available graphic options are "standard sotware, 3DFX OpenGL, and Default OpenGL" and if you havent a clue what I am talking about, you shouldn't be investing in this stock. TA PS excuse the typos and errors