Nvidia going the 3dFX way?

Notice that the first Nivida part with the FX designator (ala 3dFX) is the
one that will probably start Nvidias Slide to insolvency. Maybe purchasing
3dfx was like swallowing cyanide. A 500 dollar card that gets beaten by a
200 dollar videocard. Something is wrong and hopefully Nvidia gets on track
or we all end up with a single videocard vendor which means high prices, no
competition.



http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardwa...t2/default.asp

NVIDIA Maintain Clear Lead In UK Retail Market Share Throughout 2003
NVIDIA-Based Solutions Enjoy Immense Success On UK Retail Shelves

LONDON - SEPTEMBER 15th, 2003 - NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA), the
worldwide leader in visual processing solutions, today announced that it
achieved an unprecedented level of retail market share in the UK during 2003
to date.

The company has now accounted for the largest portion of graphics card
retail sales for eight consecutive months. Strong sales of products based on
its chipsets saw NVIDIA's market share grow from 62 per cent in January to
an unparalleled 84 per cent in August for the Top 30 graphics cards sold
through UK retail.

PNY Technologies accounted for a majority of the total sales and occupied
three of the top five positions for the most popular hardware sold every
month. The latest figures from August show PNY's 128MB Verto GeForce FX 5200
board holding the prestigious top position.

"As the only company offering a top to bottom range of DirectX 9.0 desktop
solutions to market, we are giving consumers greater choice and, as a
result, they are choosing GeForce FX," said Roy Taylor, sales director EME
at NVIDIA. "These figures clearly show that there is a considerable demand
for affordable DirectX 9.0-capable graphics


--
Regards



Morgan

And remember what happens next?
Press Release - February 14, 2000

3dfx Graphics Boards Are The Hottest Selling Graphics Cards at U.S. Retail
for November and December

Voodoo3 2000 PCI Takes Top Spot For Revenue and Unit Sales

SAN JOSE, Calif.- February 14, 2000 - 3dfx Interactive® Inc. (NASDAQ: TDFX)
today announced that the company continues to hold the top positions for
unit sales of the company's graphics boards, as well as revenue, according
to industry research firm PC Data. The Voodoo3T 2000 PCI and Voodoo3 3000
PCI took the top two spots both months based on unit sales. The Voodoo3 line
has held the top spot for eight consecutive months, ever since the products
were introduced in April 1999.

For November 1999, PC Data's report showed that 3dfx had the top three
selling retail graphics boards in the U.S. in terms of revenue, with the
Voodoo3 2000 PCI, Voodoo3 3000 PCI and Voodoo3 3000 AGP. Additionally, 3dfx
held five of the top six spots for revenue, rounding out with the Voodoo3
3500 TV and Voodoo2T 1000 PCI. In unit sales, 3dfx took the top four spots
with the Voodoo3 2000 PCI, Voodoo2 1000 PCI, Voodoo3 3000 AGP and Voodoo3
3000 PCI.

For December 1999, PC Data's report showed that 3dfx had the top two selling
retail graphics boards in the U.S. in terms of revenue, with the Voodoo3
2000 PCI and Voodoo3 3000 PCI. Additionally, 3dfx held six of the top eight
spots for revenue. In unit sales, 3dfx swept the top five spots with the
Voodoo2 2000 PCI, Voodoo3 3000 PCI, Voodoo2 1000 PCI, Voodoo3 3000 AGP and
Voodoo3 2000 AGP.

"The numbers show a continued strong market for our Voodoo 3 and Voodoo2
product lines," said Dr. Alex Leupp, president and CEO of 3dfx Interactive,
Inc. "Due to the continuing strong support for PCI products, our commitment
to delivering PCI boards has been a strategic advantage over our competitors
for the past several months, as we have continued to capitalize on this
large market."

"3dfx Voodoo3 boards have taken the top spots at retail in terms of revenue
and unit sales for the eighth consecutive month," said Stephen Baker,
director of hardware analysis at PC Data, the computer industry's primary
source for software, hardware and video game sales information. "The sales
figures show that the PCI market is definitely still alive and that 3dfx is
the company catering to this large group of users."

About Voodoo3

The Voodoo3 product line ranges in price and performance to satisfy PC-based
entertainment consumers and game enthusiasts. At $99.99 (suggested US retail
price), the 143MHz Voodoo3 2000 AGP and PCI boards generate up to 6 million
triangles and 286 Megatexels per second at resolutions of up to 2,046 by
1,536 pixels. For $149.99 (suggested US retail price), the 166MHz Voodoo3
3000 AGP and PCI boards - designed for true game enthusiasts - generate 7
million triangles and 333 Megatexels per second at resolutions of up to
2,046 by 1,536 pixels. Billed as the 'ultimate desktop entertainment
system,' the $249.99 (suggested US retail price), Voodoo3 3500 TV board
delivers up to 8 million triangles and 366 Megatexels per second at
resolutions of up to 2,046 by 1,536 pixels.

Apart from Graphics chips what else did 3dFX produce....?

--
Regards

Morgan

They brought stunning and innovative technologie at that time.
It was the days when Ati was struggling to get into 3D market.
Everything will be surpassed in time.
Lets just hope nvidia makes fast and payable cards for us......

"Morgan" schreef in bericht
...
Apart from Graphics chips what else did 3dFX produce....?

--
Regards

Morgan

So 3DFX did not make anything other than graphics chipsets...?

NVidia also make very good motherboard chipsets.

Regardless of which manufacturer occupies the pedestal or the dock it can
only be a good thing for the consumer to have choice.

--
Regards

Morgan

3dfx didn't go under because of bad cards, they went under through bad
management. People have been prophesying doom for nvidia since before the FX
actually hit the shelves. One bad product cycle isn't going to end it for
them, especially with the nForce2 chipset being what it is. And the
workstation cards are comfortably ahead of their ATi counterparts...
http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030916/index.html It's not nVidia's
finest hour but they'll get through it.


"John Llort" wrote in message
...
Notice that the first Nivida part with the FX designator (ala 3dFX) is the
one that will probably start Nvidias Slide to insolvency. Maybe purchasing
3dfx was like swallowing cyanide. A 500 dollar card that gets beaten by a
200 dollar videocard. Something is wrong and hopefully Nvidia gets on
track
or we all end up with a single videocard vendor which means high prices,
no
competition.




http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardwa..._part2/default
..asp

3dfx Graphics Boards Are The Hottest Selling Graphics Cards at U.S. Retail

See the magic words here? "U.S. Retail".

This means 3dfx was the top-selling BRAND in retail shops. It doesn't say
anything about OEM sales, or even retail TOTAL CHIP SALES. As there was only
one manufacturer of 3dfx cards at that point in time - namely 3dfx
themselves - while there were (and still are) like one or even several dozen
manufacturers of Nvidia-equipped cards you do the math. It doesn't take to
be the top seller when you count every brand name separately, but if you add
up all the Nvidia sales you'd see a different picture.

This press release lies by omission. 3dfx's market share was piddly in
comparison to Nvidia's, in particular internationally. Their strongest
position was US retail, their OEM presence was nearly non-existant, their
international presence was barely any better.

Actually, back then Nvidia only made graphic chipsets while 3dfx made the
chipsets, cards, and arcade chipsets. I think the point is that when 3dfx
was taking heat about failing and going down the tubes, they would announce
the sales figures showing how they were outselling the rival Nvidia.
History seems to be repeating. The argument for the other side then was
that since 3dfx made their own graphic cards, the sales figures were not
accurate because Nvidia sold their chipsets to many different smaller
companies. (Creative, Gainward, etc.) Of course, number of sales may
increase revenue but doesn't necessarily increase profit as 3dfx found out.

-Tim

"Morgan" wrote in message
...
So 3DFX did not make anything other than graphics chipsets...?

NVidia also make very good motherboard chipsets.

Regardless of which manufacturer occupies the pedestal or the dock it can
only be a good thing for the consumer to have choice.

--
Regards

Morgan

On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 18:35:15 +0100, "Morgan" wrote::

Apart from Graphics chips what else did 3dFX produce....?

Graphics boards. Don't really know what else. There were the usual
gift shop items that bore the 3Dfx logo like T-shirts and mugs, but I
don't know if you can count those.

They made consumer boards after acquiring STB.

It's sort of fuzzy whether you could say 3Dfx made video boards for
military applications or not. The boards were made by Quantum3D, and
some websites say they were a subsidiary of 3Dfx, others like this one
describe it as if it's a related, but independent company:

http://firingsquad.gamers.com/print_...i cle_id=1043

Quantum3D also made boards for graphics workstations such as the
obsidian3d, which was a dual Voodoo1 board destined for one of SGI's
workstations.

Of course, As I said, the 3Dfx-Quantum3D relationship is fuzzy, so I
don't know if you can count those as 3Dfx products or not.


----------------------------------------
Thanks,

MCheu