I know is that there will be faster chips, better 3D, and new companies to take a shot at the top spot. In the meantime, for the next eighteen months, Diamond and Creative will concentrate on picking up the business STB has given up. They will try and drive Nvidia ahead of 3dfx in the retail sector of the market, and fight off ATI and Matrox with S3. Diamond will try and diversify its product line with home networking, and the successors to Rio. Creative will try and squeeze better margins out of its graphics business, and capitalize on Internet music opportunities.
Nothing ever changes.
Nice to know the add-in graphics board business isn't going to die anytime soon, but you have to admit that everyone is looking pretty much the same. For Diamond and Creative, it's all a matter of execution, channel management and marketing. If they stick to what they do best, there may be better profits ahead for their graphics businesses. Otherwise, by the first quarter of 2000, we may lose one more graphics brand to merger, acquisition, or divestiture. It could be sooner than that.