XBOX-HQ.COM - New game console coming to town.

In advance of The Phantom console’s official unveiling, information from Infinium Labs has been released regarding the oft-maligned console, not the least of which are the first shots of the actual hardware and interface.

Unveiled were the console’s upgradeable hardware and general security mechanaisms, as well as some other technical specifications. Now that the Phantom is nearing its beta release, Infinium Labs has come closer to finalizing the specs. Having been billed as "the fastest console on the market," the Phantom appears to be living up to the hype, with a 2GHz to 3GHz processor, a 120 GB hard drive and a WinXPe kernel that loads in eight seconds.

"People have asked if we’re going to have problems with Microsoft about using XP. Actually, we’ve been working very closely with Microsoft on it," said Infinium Labs’ CEO and founder Timothy Roberts. "One thing … people have been concerned with is that XP is not as fast an operating system as Linux. Believe it or not, after our OS customization we have found that it is faster."

In addition to the fast processor and OS, the Phantom will also come with hardware support for component video connections and Dolby Digital 7.1 audio, as well as a built-in cable or DSL modem or a WIFI card.

But what about the games? All the hardware and speed in the world won’t matter if the games aren’t there. Infinium Labs acknowledges that most blockbuster titles won’t appear on the Phantom. At least not right away.

"Currently, we already have commitments for 5,000 titles to come on our system at launch," said Roberts. "We’re not going to get every top title out there, but we know we’ll launch with 20 of the top 200 titles at launch, and continue to add those top titles in the months ahead."

What’s interesting about the graphical interface, aside from its unique appearance, is that StarCraft: Ghost is a gameplay option. Whether that game would indeed appear on the console remains to be seen, but Blizzard Entertainment’s PR Coordinator, George Wang, would only say that "StarCraft: Ghost will be available on the Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube." He did not mention the Phantom. Although Blizzard’s anticipated title apparently will not appear on the Phantom, its inclusion in the console’s preliminary artwork indicates the caliber of games Infinium Labs hopes to distribute via its upcoming console.

Regardless of the number of games that appear on the Phantom, owners will pay a monthly subscription fee for the always-on gaming service, similar to subscription fees with popular MMORPGs such as EVE Online, EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies. Despite the monthly fee, advertisements will still appear in the Phantom’s interface. Eventually, Infinium Labs anticipates that ad revenues (and presumably advertisements) will increase, at which point the monthly subscription will no longer be required.

Hardcore gamers consistently berate such advertisements, yet Infinium Labs says more than 28,000 people applied to be beta testers for the console. The company will email 300 of those applicants and send to them beta hardware. Infinium Labs will then open beta requests for Europe, Asia, Mexico and Australia. The Phantom service is scheduled to launch in Europe and Asia in Q1 2005.

Specs and info obtained via DailyGame