jmke

how different was the industry in 1999 versus now? not much difference I'd say

Retailers Including Best Buy, CompUSA, Electronics Boutique, and Babbage's Expect Vigorous Sales of First-Ever 3dfx-Branded Products; ZDTag Benchmark Tests Show Voodoo3 Dominates Top-Selling Boards

SAN JOSE, Calif.. - April 7, 1999 - 3dfx Interactive® Inc. (NASDAQ TDFX) today announced the worldwide availability of its new Voodoo3� 2000 and 3000 boards, the first graphics boards to carry the highly acclaimed 3dfx® 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 a special edition of Interplay's Descent 3� Sol Ascent�, 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 tests 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*, 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® 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® application programming interface (API) from 3dfx, as well as other standard API's including Microsoft's Direct X6 and OpenGL® 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�, Voodoo Graphics®, Voodoo Banshee� and the new Voodoo3 family of boards and chips. Visit the company on the Web at http://www.3dfx.com.

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.

*ZDTag test system configuration Intel® Pentium® 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; Voodoo3 3000 16MB AGP Board £149

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.

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kr15t0f

lol, can I still buy them for £149