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Has going public changed your particular orientation? It seems odd that 3Dfx would ever 'slim' down a product by taking a TMU off a board. It's as though Intel-style segmentation strategies have skewed into 3Dfx's everyday operations and we've heard a lot of banter throughout the industry about 3Dfx trying to 'ATI' themselves. Does that effect your R & D content and schedule much or as resident geniuses, can you do whatever you fancy and marketing sorts it out on the other end?
Going public has given us the ability to ensure that we stay on the cutting edge of technology while at the same time broadening our market to support more R&D and provide a bigger base for game publishers. We are very much committed to providing the very best technology and performance for the most extreme gamers, but we also want to broaden our market to make the technology available to a wider group of people.
The point with Voodoo Banshee wasn't to lop off a TMU from Voodoo2-the point was to integrate really great 2D with really great 3D and make it available to a broader audience. At the same time, we've been hard at work developing new 3D innovations. It's all part of the plan.
The patent thing. Crikey! It sounds pretty serious and 'single pass multi-texturing' reads like it's just the tip of the iceberg. What about stuff like fog tables etc…you've patented that too right? Does Intel know?
We invest heavily in R&D and create some great technology. We will protect our unique intellectual property. We have to; we must be responsible to our employees, our investors and our partners. A lawsuit is a last resort for us, but we will do what it takes to safeguard that which belongs to us. I couldn't speculate if other unique technological implementations we've created have been violated by others. To our knowledge, we're not aware of anyone else violating our intellectual property.
On that subject of technology lawsuits, the practice of 'borrowing' technology, releasing a product now and litigating later seems to have become quite popular. As inventors, do you feel that patents and the legal system can protect innovation? If you could sue anyone you wanted, who would it be and for what?
The patent system and the legal system are designed to protect intellectual property. I'm not an authority to say how well the system works. As to who we would want to sue, I can only say that we despise litigation. It's our goal to first establish open, clear communication and then enter into negotiation. Litigation is a distasteful process to us. We would actively seek from using it, except as a last resort.
What's the sneakiest thing that another company has done to 'prove' that they're faster than 3Dfx then? Spill the beans. All the gossip and slander that you've built up over three years needs to be put down right here.
The sneakiest thing? I don't want to throw mud at others. Let me just say that one frustration I've had is to see 3D companies come along and make grandiose claims on the expected performance of an upcoming chips and boast how it will be the Voodoo-killer. Magazines and websites print these claims wholesale, accepted as pure fact. Later, when it turns out that the company failed to deliver on its claims-that they did not achieve anywhere near the performance they claimed, the fact goes unnoticed. Sharky Extreme has been an exception to this, and I have to commend you guys on this point.
If someone like Intel offered a substantial amount of money to buy 3Dfx would you vote 'yes'? We're only asking 'cos we've talked to some of their energizer type bunnies and they seemed pretty interested? We help where we can...
We really don't intend to be the object of an acquisition. It's our aim to grow our company, our technology and our marketplace, and at the same time advance the state of 3D entertainment. Why, is Sharky Extreme interested in making an offer?
So, the question on everyone's mind: What's with the Siamese Crack Monkey Twins on the 3Dfx splash page? Rumour has it they are BOTH Albanian refugees, can you confirm this? (We've heard about some 'special' announcement that you're going to make at COMDEX but from experience we know it's really not a good place to announce that sort of thing. You know how stuffy and hot it can be in those stands and surrounded by all those nasty marketing people? Tell you what, why not announce it here, eh?)
The monkeys, of course, spent too much time trying to get decent performance out of an woefully inadequate 3D graphics chips. I won't mention any names, but… As far as our Comdex announcement-darn it, you guys are so convincing-okay, we'll provide a Sharky Extreme exclusive: we're going into the hotel business. We're starting a megahotel. Each room will be outfitted with the best gaming system ever---plus free soap!
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