Newsgroup: it.comp.hardware.video-3d
Titolo: Annunzio (vobis gaudium magnum) ufficiale della 3dfx - Prezzi, disponibilita' anche in Itali, bundle etc.

Ecco una news economica fatta dalla 3dfx alla agenzia Reuter:
(tanto l'inglese lo sapete tutti)
Baci
Gigi
SAN JOSE, Calif., April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- 3dfx Interactive(R) Inc.
(Nasdaq:  TDFX) today announced the worldwide availability of its new
Voodoo3(TM) 2000 and 3000 boards, the first graphics boards to carry
the highly acclaimed 3dfx(R) brand name. The Voodoo3 boards will be
available this month in 9,000 stores worldwide, with up to 15,000
stores expected to carry 3dfx brand products later this year. The new
Voodoo3 2000 and 3000 deliver industry-leading 3D and 2D performance,
while the Voodoo3 3000 ships with a selection of hot 3D titles: an
optimized version of Interplay's Descent 3(TM): Sol Ascent(TM), a free
upgrade coupon for the much-anticipated Unreal Tournament from GT
Interactive and Epic Games, the complete version of Unreal, and
Electronic Arts' driving genre smash Need for Speed III specially
optimized for 3dfx. 
3dfx also announced that in independent tests released today by ZDTag,
the ZD Testing and Analysis Group, Voodoo3 delivers nearly twice the
performance of its nearest non-3dfx based competitor tested in Quake
II time demos. The test results, commissioned by STB Systems, Inc.,
illustrate Voodoo3's dominance of the 3D market. 
Following the widespread success of pre-sale programs among retailers
including Babbage's and Software Etc. and Electronics Boutique (EB),
retail outfits announced they expect vigorous demand for 3dfx Voodoo3
boards. In North America, the new boards also will be available from
Best Buy, Business Depot, CompUSA, DataVision, Fry's Electronics,
Future Shop, J&R, MicroCenter, The Wiz, and other retailers. In
Europe, Carrefour, CDC , Computer Union, Dixons Group, EB, El Corte
Ingles, FNAC, Game, MediaMarkt, PC World, and ProMarkt will sell
Voodoo3 products. Several retailers also plan to offer the boards via
their online stores. 
"Voodoo3 is truly a breakout product not only for 3dfx, but for
retailers and consumers as well," said Greg Ballard, president and CEO
of 3dfx Interactive. "We are delighted at the response from retailers
as we expand our retail presence throughout North America and Europe.
As a result, Voodoo3 will deliver the most compelling entertainment
experiences to more people than ever before." "We expect Voodoo3 to be
a tremendously popular product for Best Buy," said Bob Gundersen,
merchandise manager at Best Buy, which is delivering the boards
through its 311 stores nationwide. "We launched an advertising
campaign on the leading PC gaming Web sites in mid-March that has
driven an incredible number of consumers to our Web site for more
information." Pre-Sale Success Suggests Brisk Sales for Voodoo3 
Computer product retailers also expect strong sales based on the
popularity of Voodoo3 pre-sale programs announced Feb. 12 by Babbage's
and Software Etc., CompUSA Inc., and Electronics Boutique. In March,
3dfx launched a $20 million worldwide consumer brand marketing and
advertising campaign designed to lead the most recognized name in the
3D graphics accelerator industry into the broader, consumer
entertainment marketplace. 
"Customer response to the launch of Voodoo3 has been overwhelming,"
said Dan DeMatteo, president of Babbage's and Software Etc. "Not only
have we surpassed our pre-sale response for Voodoo2, but our Voodoo3
campaign has outperformed every other video accelerator pre-sale
program we've ever had. We expect Voodoo3 to be a blow-out product at
retail." 
"Our pre-sale campaign for Voodoo3 continues to set records due to the
enormous popularity of the Voodoo product family and the very positive
draw of the 3dfx brand," said Cory Hodge, buyer at Electronics
Boutique. "In terms of total dollars generated for EB, this  is our
most successful pre-sale program ever -- for any PC product."
Blistering Performance, Hot New Game Bundles 
The Voodoo3 product line ranges in price and performance to satisfy
PC-based entertainment consumers and game enthusiasts. Manufactured by
STB Systems, Inc., Voodoo3 delivers industry-leading performance at
every price point. 
At $129.99 (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 $179.99
(suggested US retail price), the 166MHz Voodoo3 3000 AGP board --
designed for true game enthusiasts -- generates 7 million triangles
and 333 Megatexels per second at resolutions of up to 2,046 by 1,536
pixels. Availability of the Voodoo3 3500, with a suggested US retail
price of $249.99, will be announced later this year. (See below for
European pricing.) 
According to ZDTag test results released today, the blistering
real-world performance of the Voodoo3 2000 and 3000 handily outpaces
the non-3dfx based competition's most powerful shipping products: the
nVidia TNT-based Diamond Viper V550, the S3 Savage3D-based Hercules
Terminator Beast, and the ATI Rage 128-based Rage Fury. 
In Quake II time demo testing(a), ZDTag found the Voodoo3 3000 scored
an astounding 95.7 percent faster than its nearest competitor, the ATI
Rage Fury. The tests, conducted at a resolution of 1,024 by 768, also
found the Voodoo3 2000 is 68.8 percent faster than the ATI card.
Complete test results are available today at 
http://www.3dfx.com
. 
Voodoo3 3000 also will ship in North America with a selection of some
of the industry's hottest 3D game titles: 
* Descent 3: Sol Ascent, a special pre-release edition of Interplay's
long-anticipated Descent 3, the next installment in the revolutionary
Descent series that pioneered multiplayer gaming. This game was
developed  by Outrage Entertainment on the all-new Fusion Engine using
3dfx Glide, and is designed to take advantage of Voodoo3's hottest
features. 
* A free copy of Unreal Tournament (plus shipping and handling,
redeemable with an in-box coupon) and a complete version of Unreal in
the box. When it ships at retail later this year, Unreal Tournament
from GT Interactive and Epic Games takes online multiplayer team play
and combines it with the most intelligent simulated human opponents
("bots") yet for both single and online players. Unreal Tournament
includes such features as higher resolution skins, level of detail
support, all-new weaponry, four exciting game types (capture the flag,
assault, domination, and team death match), a state of the art
interface, and tutorials for first-time players. Also included with
Voodoo3 3000 is the complete version of the million-selling
blockbuster action title Unreal, considered by many to be the ultimate
3dfx Glide(R) title. 
* Need for Speed III from Electronic Arts, the driving game genre's
top-rated title featuring critically acclaimed 3D scenes and NFS'
famous Hot Pursuit mode. Specially optimized for 3dfx technology, the
smash hit Need for Speed III was recently voted Best Driving Game of
the Year by Computer Gaming World. 
The Voodoo3 2000 board ships with an Eidos Interactive Game Sampler
featuring 14 titles, including Tomb Raider II, Tomb Raider III, and
Tomb Raider Gold, Final Fantasy VII, Braveheart, Daikatana, War Zone
2100, Thief: The Dark Project, Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines,
Gangsters: Organized Crime, and Revenant. Voodoo3 provides complete
compatibility with the largest selection of enhanced 3D entertainment
titles, with more than 300 titles currently available. Voodoo3 is
optimized for the Glide(R) application programming interface (API)
from 3dfx, as well as other standard API's including Microsoft's
Direct X6 and OpenGL(R) from Silicon Graphics. (See below for European
game bundle titles.) About 3dfx Interactive 
3dfx Interactive develops high-performance, cost-effective 3D media
processors, software and related technology that are designed to
enable a highly immersive, interactive and realistic 3D experience
across interactive electronic entertainment platforms -- personal
computers, coin-operated arcade systems and location-based
entertainment. Current 3dfx Interactive products include the Voodoo
family of accelerator chip sets, Voodoo2(TM), Voodoo Graphics(R),
Voodoo Banshee(TM) and the new Voodoo3 family of boards and chips.
Visit the company on the Web at 
http://www.3dfx.com
. 
NOTE: 3dfx, 3dfx Interactive, Glide and Voodoo Graphics are registered
trademarks and Voodoo, Voodoo2, Voodoo3 and Voodoo Banshee are
trademarks of 3dfx Interactive. All other names may be trademarks of
their respective holders. 
Certain of the statements in this press release, including the
statements relating to the Company's expectations for commercial and
shipping availability and sales of the Voodoo3 family products, as
well as the performance expectations for the Voodoo3 family of
products, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than
expectations. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, manufacturing and other delays relating to new products,
difficulties in the fabrication process and dependence of the Company
on third party manufacturers, general industry trends, including
cyclical trends in the PC and semiconductor industries, the impact of
competitive products and pricing alternatives, market acceptance of
the Company's new products and the Company's dependence on retail
channels. Investors are advised to read the Company's annual and
quarterly reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, particularly those sections entitled "Factors
Affecting Operating Results," for a fuller discussion  of such risks
and uncertainties. 
(a) ZDTag test system configuration: Intel(R) Pentium(R) III at
500MHz, 128MB SDRAM, 512K L2 cache, Phoenix BIOS 4.0 Release 6.0, 1024
x 768 resolution, 16-bit color depth, Windows 98, Quake II 3.20, Vsync
off, in 16-bit mode with 8-bit palletized textures turned on. 
European Pricing:
Italy -- Voodoo3 2000 16MB AGP Board: L279,000; Voodoo3 3000 16MB AGP
Board: L399,000 
Germany -- Voodoo3 2000 16MB AGP Board: 259DM; Voodoo3 3000 16MB AGP
Board: 399DM 
France -- Voodoo3 2000 16MB AGP Board: 999 F; Voodoo3 3000 16MB AGP
Board: 1,490 F 
Holland -- Voodoo3 2000 16MB AGP Board: fl 339; Voodoo3 3000 16MB AGP
Board: fl 499 
Belgium -- Voodoo3 2000 16MB AGP Board: 5,990 FB; Voodoo3 3000 16MB
AGP Board: 8,990 FB 
Spain -- Voodoo3 2000 16MB PCI Board: 23,900 Pts; Voodoo3 3000 16MB
AGP Board: 34,900 Pts 
Portugal -- Voodoo3 2000 16MB PCI Board: 29,990 Esc.; Voodoo3 3000
16MB AGP Board: 43,990 Esc. 
UK -- Voodoo3 2000 16MB AGP Board: 99 pounds sterling; Voodoo3 3000
16MB AGP Board: 149 pounds sterling European Game Bundle Titles: 
Voodoo3 3000 will ship with Descent 3: Sol Ascent, Unreal, Unreal
Tournament coupon, and Fifa '99. The Voodoo3 2000 game sampler will
not be available in Northern Europe. 

Personalmente aspetto il TNT2, la Diamond Viper V770 in particolare: è tra
tutte le TNT in uscita la più "pompata".
Allora ci sarà da ridere.........
Pier
--
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