Editing Phantom Entertainment (section)

=={{anchor|The Phantom console}}The Phantom==
{{Infobox information appliance
| name = The Phantom
| image = [[File:Phantom-Console.jpg|250px]]
| caption = The Phantom at E3 2004 in Los Angeles
| type = [[Home video game console]]
| generation = If released, [[History of video game consoles (sixth generation)|sixth]] or [[History of video game consoles (seventh generation)|seventh generation]] (depending on release date)
| releasedate = Canceled; release promised in November 2004, January, March and September 2005
}}
The Phantom is a cancelled home video game console whose development was supposedly begun by Phantom Entertainment–then known as Infinium Labs–in 2003. The device was said to be capable of playing current and future PC games, giving the system a large initial game library and making it easier for developers to produce games for the system. The system was said to feature a direct-download [[content delivery]] service, instead of the [[disk storage|discs]] and [[ROM cartridge|cartridges]] used by most game consoles at the time.

Press releases said in 2003 that the console would be released that year, and the [[digital rights management]] software would be provided by DiStream.<ref name="PR2003Unveil">{{cite web |url=http://www.beststuff.com/fromthewire/phantom-game-console-unveiling-to-be-online-august-17th.html |title=Phantom Game Console Unveiling to Be Online August 17th |author=Infinium Labs |date=July 23, 2003 |work=Infinium Labs Press Release |access-date=February 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305190402/http://www.beststuff.com/fromthewire/phantom-game-console-unveiling-to-be-online-august-17th.html |archive-date=March 5, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="PR2003DiStream">{{cite web |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/infinium-labs-selects-distream-for-digital-rights-management-of-phantom-game-system-and-phantomnet-game-service-72841717.html |title=DiStream Will Provide Server System and Management Platform for PhantomNet |author=Infinium Labs |date=November 3, 2003 |work=Infinium Labs Press Release |access-date=February 5, 2012 |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001606/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/infinium-labs-selects-distream-for-digital-rights-management-of-phantom-game-system-and-phantomnet-game-service-72841717.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[prototype]] Phantom was first seen at the May 2004 [[Electronic Entertainment Expo]] (E3), although it was rumored to be fake.<ref name="TomsHard">{{cite web |url=http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Online-Games-Store-Phantom,6703.html |title=Phantom Returns With Online Store |author=Kevin Parrish |date=December 16, 2008 |work=TomsHardware |access-date=February 5, 2012 |archive-date=June 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626111338/http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Online-Games-Store-Phantom,6703.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Robrady Design was hired to develop the first Phantom prototype, and Synopse ID was later retained to develop second- and third-generation prototypes.

Two units of the first-generation prototype were known to exist, one publicly destroyed by HardOCP at [[QuakeCon]] 2004 as a result of their legal battles with the company (see below),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shrout |first1=Ryan |title=QUAKECON 2004 (page 3) |url=https://pcper.com/2004/08/quakecon-2004/3/ |website=PC Perspective |access-date=January 5, 2021 |date=August 16, 2004 |archive-date=October 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211014141706/https://pcper.com/2004/08/quakecon-2004/3/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the other was spotted by a computer repair shop in [[Venice, Florida]] in 2015 and reported by ''[[Ars Technica]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Orland |first1=Kyle |title=Ars reader: So a guy walks into my shop with an Infinium Phantom console… |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/07/ars-reader-so-a-guy-walks-into-my-shop-with-an-infinium-phantom-console/ |website=Ars Technica |access-date=August 25, 2024 |date=July 7, 2015 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225205828/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/07/ars-reader-so-a-guy-walks-into-my-shop-with-an-infinium-phantom-console/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In October 2021, a first-generation prototype unit was listed for auction, presumably the same unit that was previously reported by Ars Technica due to its listed repair history.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Knight |first1=Shawn |title=Rare prototype Infinium Labs Phantom console goes up for auction |url=https://www.techspot.com/news/91753-rare-prototype-infinium-labs-phantom-console-goes-up.html |website=TechSpot |access-date=March 28, 2022 |date=October 14, 2021 |archive-date=June 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630223812/https://www.techspot.com/news/91753-rare-prototype-infinium-labs-phantom-console-goes-up.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A second-generation prototype unit shown at E3 2004 surfaced a year later after the discovery of the surviving 2003 prototype.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ehringer |first1=John |title=A Close Look at the Never Released Infinium Labs Phantom Video Game Console |url=http://www.5khz.com/2016/01/30/a-close-look-at-the-infinium-labs-phantom/ |website=5khz.com |access-date=January 5, 2021 |date=January 30, 2016 |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107073514/http://www.5khz.com/2016/01/30/a-close-look-at-the-infinium-labs-phantom/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==={{anchor|Development|Release date}}Release===
The Phantom had an online release on August 17, 2003, with basic hardware specifications and a price of "below $399".<ref name="2003Unveiling">{{cite web |url=http://www.ladydragon.com/phantom.html |title=Phantom Unveiling |author=Infinium Labs |date=August 17, 2003 |work=Infinium Labs |access-date=February 5, 2012 |archive-date=August 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822082243/http://www.ladydragon.com/phantom.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Options included customized hardware and the PhantomNet (a gaming-content service), priced at $9.95 a month. A sale date for the first quarter of 2004 was set. It was missed; the company later claimed it would go on sale in November for the holiday season, although it had not developed online-delivery software, licensed games or found any retailers. The second deadline was missed, with Infinium sending thousands of faxes claiming that the system would be released in January 2005.

When that deadline passed, Infinium predicted the system's release for around March 2005. That date also passed, and Infinium Labs was absent from the 2005 E3.<ref>{{cite news|first=Chris|last=Morris|url=https://money.cnn.com/2005/05/19/technology/personaltech/e3_phantom/|title=Whither the Phantom? After a big splash in 2004, Infinium Labs' on-demand game service is nowhere to be found at E3|publisher=[[CNN|CNN/Money]]|date=May 19, 2005|access-date=May 17, 2006|archive-date=April 27, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427185412/http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/19/technology/personaltech/e3_phantom/|url-status=live}}</ref> Kevin Bachus (former Infinium CEO) hinted that the Phantom would be released around the same time as the [[Xbox 360]] in fall 2005, but that date was also missed. By August 2006, the Phantom Console was removed from the products page of the Phantom Entertainment website.

===Financial problems===
The company was unable to raise its projected $30&nbsp;million to complete the Phantom and announced it would downsize and focus on the Phantom Lapboard, a [[wireless keyboard]] for home use. On May 16, 2006, the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] accused Phantom Entertainment founder and former CEO Timothy Roberts of running a "[[pump and dump]]" scheme in promoting the Phantom console in 2004.<ref>{{cite news|first=Chris|last=Morris|url=https://money.cnn.com/2006/05/16/technology/infinium/index.htm|title='Phantom' video game CEO charged with pump and dump scheme|publisher=[[CNN|CNN/Money]]|date=May 16, 2006|access-date=May 17, 2006|archive-date=June 17, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060617191634/http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/16/technology/infinium/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The Phantom lost credibility in the gaming and business worlds because its release date was continually pushed back, and because of financial scandals involving Phantom Entertainment (which lost more than $62.7 million since its creation).<ref name="gamespot">{{cite news | title=Infinium opens the books | publisher=GameSpot | date=February 21, 2006 | url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/6144631.html | first=Brendan | last=Sinclair | access-date=April 9, 2006 | archive-date=April 19, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060419174924/http://www.gamespot.com/news/6144631.html | url-status=live }}</ref>