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

To: JAG who wrote (12726)	5/19/1999 12:08:00 AM
From: Greg S.	Respond to of 16960

Reports have it that none of the graphics companies wanted to announce any new products while they just introduced new products. It has been asserted by others that TDFX had historically been the worst at this, that is announcing Voodo3 just when Voodo2 hit the shelves. I don't remember 3dfx announcing anything when Voodoo2 hit the shelves, except for "will anyone who wants the best please line up at the nearest store". Can you please refer me to these reports? I remember people scrambling to find info on what 3dfx's next product would be only to hear whisper names. For crying out loud we had "specs" for the TNT (and I use the term loosely) _LONG_ before we had specs for the Banshee, even though (a) the TNT numbers barely topped HALF those they initially announced, and (b) the TNT debuted a month after the Banshee. Sorry if I sound a little too emotional but I just think there is an awful lot of hard evidence contrary to what you're saying. Diamond and Creaf were very upset at that. One of the graphics sites said today that he heard from good sources that STB pulled TDFX aside and said no more of that game boys and thus corraled the wild horses at TDFX. That's a funny image. Seriously, though, I think we all agree that publishing a roadmap would do everyone some good. First of all I think the consumers are all painfully aware that the graphics industry is a fast moving one, and as such if you wait there will always be something better and cheaper. It's faster even than the main CPU industry, but that should be okay because a 3d chip is a smaller investment than a general-purpose CPU. I'd be pretty pissed if I bought a brand-spanking new PIII-550 for $700 and in six-months time it were obsolete. But the best graphics cards nowadays cost $200-250, and that's a much smaller amount of money to shell out repeatedly. To my knowledge, Intel hasn't been hurt by their roadmap - in fact it helps them because buyers can see the (arguably) bright future the x86 architecture has, and realize it's the architecture they want powering their computer because it's going to keep pace with or stay ahead of the industry. I'm going to upgrade soon. Their roadmap has made me consider waiting for the Coppermine 733MHz instead of getting a K7 from AMD. Second of all, it lets us investors know that our company is on top of things and is moving in the right directions at an appropriate pace. That's what I hate about 3dfx. Sure Ballard, rub your hands together and grin smugly, but throw us a bone because we own a piece of the company too. The stock will always suffer because even when the next smash hit of a chip comes out, there is always doubt as to the one after. Oh, and on another bullish note let's all not forget that 3dfx has always been very competitive with pricing vs. nVidia. The Banshee was cheaper than the TNT by between 10-50 dollars, depending on which models you chose. Somebody ought to do a price/perf chart on the latest cards and see who wins. -G

To: JAG who wrote (12726)	5/19/1999 12:28:00 AM
From: Jeffrey P	Respond to of 16960

I thought you weren't around? :) Message 9571256 Jeff P.

To: JAG who wrote (12726)	5/19/1999 12:43:00 AM
From: Piranha	Respond to of 16960

Yo, JAG, it's spelled "Voodoo", not "Voodo." :) Piranha

To: JAG who wrote (12726)	5/19/1999 2:41:00 PM
From: benwood	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 16960

<It has been asserted by others that TDFX had historically been the worst at this, that is announcing Voodo3 just when Voodo2 hit the shelves.> Voodoo2 came out around 3/9/98 (see post #1890 at TMF), and "official" word of Voodoo3 came from TDFX on 11/16/98 (see TMF #12252). However, perhaps you're thinking of Banshee? Banshee rumors started almost immediately following Voodoo2 launch (see 3/19/98 at TMF), but it's official announcement wasn't until 6/22/98 (#17781), and it didn't hit the shelves until 10/19/98 or so (#11176). Voodoo3 got it's first blessing (as a real upcoming product) from TDFX on 11/16/98 (see TMF #12252), but strangely enough, I found rumors and links to information from the TMF site from 10/19/98 about Voodoo3, the very same day the first Banshee board was purchased by a TMF poster. If anything, the delay in getting Banshee to market and the official announcement of the Voodoo3 just 1 month after launch probably cut into Banshee sales. The lack of official word about Banshee probably cut into the Voodoo2 sales because, as I reviewed the rumors, there were many that were really out there and the expectations were much higher. However, buyers of video boards are used to rumors, and especially the hard core gamers will tend to buy now rather than wait 4-6 months for who-knows-what? So, in short, I started this research to prove JAG was full of it, but on the contrary I concluded that he painted what's probably an accurate portrait but forgot to insert the Banshee product into the timeline. Notice nowadays that we haven't heard a (useful) peep about Voodoo4 (or Rampage or ???) and how the Voodoo3-3500TV surprised a lot of people. I'd say that TDFX is doing much better now about controlling information. JAG, your comments about the TDFX board sounding like pro wrestlers made me laugh. Of course they want to sound confident, and maybe (hopefully) they really are. Remember how nVidia boasted about how TDFX was running for it's life and had to hide behind litigation a few months ago. Guess it's contagious!