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

To: Sun Tzu who wrote (7021)	9/13/1998 2:43:00 PM
From: AJ Berger	Respond to of 16960

3Dfx to Have Exclusive Presence at Babbages In an exclusive story, Next Generation Online has learned that 3Dfx and Babbages have entered into a special arrangement. September 11, 1998 NGO has learned from 3Dfx that the accelerator tycoon has closed an exclusive agreement with Babbages, one of the nation's largest video game and PC retailers. The deal provides for a separate section within Babbage's 450 stores which will specifically focus on 3Dfx-related products. The purpose of the section will be for 3Dfx to provide a sort of "stamp of approval" on games which have been optimized for 3Dfx technology. So, you'll walk into any Babbages or Software, Etc. and there will be a 3Dfx shelf with 3Dfx boards and a slate of games 3Dfx has selected as recommended titles. We asked Darlene Kindler, 3Dfx's VP of Developer Relations, whether a bunch of money passed hands to cement the deal. No, she said, surprisedly. "[Babbages] recognized 3Dfx as the standard," she told us. "We would have been very pleased with just a 3D acceleration section, but they wanted to go a step further." According to Kindler, Babbages made the deal because they were looking for a "Babbages Recommends" section, and they wanted to make sure the games they recommended were good. However, they lacked the gaming expertise to be certain their recommendations were more Starcraft and less Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi. A deal with 3Dfx was born. No sooner did we hear the news, however, then we began to wonder how 3Dfx would use its cart blanche recommendation powers. Already publishers essentially have to bribe their way onto the store shelves, paying the retailers special fees for shelf space. Would 3Dfx start charging for the privilege of selection? "That's not something we would abuse," Kindler told us. "These are games that are optimized for our hardware." What's more, they do not intend to use this as leverage with developers to make certain they optimize their games for 3Dfx. Of course, 3Dfx hardly needs to break legs and kneecap developers to get them to optimize for 3Dfx. In the second quarter of 1997, the only games that were 3Dfx optimized were in OEM bundles. Today there are 250 titles available and 500 in development. According to Dan DeMatteo, president of Babbage's Etc., "We want to direct our PC-gaming customers to the newest technology and feature the greatest selection of 3Dfx-compatible titles. 3Dfx has legitimized the PC-gaming platform and become a standard in the industry for supporting the most number of software titles and delivering the most immersive 3D-gaming experience." Some of the early titles the 3dfx section will feature include Unreal, NFL Gameday '99, Need for Speed 3: Hot Pursuit, and Final Fantasy VII. Another bit of good news for 3dfx: Babbages' sales associates will receive special training to answer 3D questions and will sport 3Dfx Interactive polo shirts each weekend during the holiday season. As a final note, it looks like Babbages isn't the only one giving 3Dfx exclusive shelf space. According to Kindler, EB may well be next with some stores already providing specialized sections. The arrangement only needs to be, in her words, "formalized." It's beginning to look like a 3Dfx world, baby.