3DFX are the #1 selling video cards in America ..

http://www.cdmag.com/articles/020/194/voodoo3_may.html 3dfx Interactive (Nasdaq: TDFX) today announced its Voodoo3 brand graphics accelerator boards continue to rank as the hottest selling video cards in retail stores throughout North America. 3dfx Voodoo3 2000 and 3000 captured the top two spots in PC Data's ranking of best-selling video cards for the month of May 1999. According to PC Data, the Voodoo3 2000 PCI was the No. 1 selling board in terms of both unit shipments and revenues, while the Voodoo3 3000 AGP was ranked second. Overall 3dfx unit shipments accounted for 37.6 percent of all video cards sold at retail. ``Once again, 3dfx-powered boards lead the retail space for 3D graphics products,'' said Stephen Baker, senior analyst at PC Data, the computer industry's primary source for software, hardware and video game sales information. ``Through numerous updates of 3dfx graphics technology, 3dfx-based products have consistently led the retail market throughout 1998 and 1999.'' More information on the Voodoo3 line of graphic accelerators can be found at http://www.3dfx.com -- // rrevved at mindspring dot com

Of course these cards will sell better than others! They are the ONLY cards using the Voodoo3 chips. If you wanted to buy a TnT2 card, you would have at least six brands to choose from. Lets just pretend for a minute that TnT2 sales accounted for 50% of all graphics card sales. Even if there were only five TnT2 cards available, the best selling brand would probably have no more than 30% of the total sales. -DataFly

On Mon, 28 Jun 1999 16:20:04 -0500, There are 2 models of the Voodoo3, the 2000 and the 3000. These two cards accounted for 37% of ALL the video card sales in America. One more time, they accounted for 37% of total sales of ALL video cards. They aren't just speaking of 3D video cards, but ALL video cards. That is a hell of an impressive stat when you consider the multitude of video cards from damn near everybody that can stick a chip on a board. ATI, for instance, sells a TON of cards as do Matrox, S3, and all the Riva cards. To hold 37% of this tough market is an incredible feat. If, for discussion's sake you were to consolidate all TNT2 sales into one big 30% number, and add it to the 37% verified sales by Voodoo3, that would leave only 33% for everyone else. LOL! I don't think so, sir.

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>> http://www.cdmag.com/articles/020/194/voodoo3_may.html >> 3dfx Interactive (Nasdaq: TDFX) today announced its Voodoo3 brand >> graphics accelerator boards continue to rank as the hottest selling >> video cards in retail stores throughout North America. 3dfx Voodoo3 >> 2000 and 3000 captured the top two spots in PC Data's ranking of >> best-selling video cards for the month of May 1999. >> According to PC Data, the Voodoo3 2000 PCI was the No. 1 selling board >> in terms of both unit shipments and revenues, while the Voodoo3 3000 >> AGP was ranked second. Overall 3dfx unit shipments accounted for 37.6 >> percent of all video cards sold at retail. >> ``Once again, 3dfx-powered boards lead the retail space for 3D >> graphics products,'' said Stephen Baker, senior analyst at PC Data, >> the computer industry's primary source for software, hardware and >> video game sales information. ``Through numerous updates of 3dfx >> graphics technology, 3dfx-based products have consistently led the >> retail market throughout 1998 and 1999.'' >> More information on the Voodoo3 line of graphic accelerators can be >> found at http://www.3dfx.com. >> -- >> // rrevved at mindspring dot com

-- // rrevved at mindspring dot com

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>There are 2 models of the Voodoo3, the 2000 and the 3000. These two >cards accounted for 37% of ALL the video card sales in America. One more >time, they accounted for 37% of total sales of ALL video cards. They aren't >just speaking of 3D video cards, but ALL video cards. That is a hell of an >impressive stat when you consider the multitude of video cards from damn >near everybody that can stick a chip on a board. ATI, for instance, sells a >TON of cards as do Matrox, S3, and all the Riva cards. To hold 37% of this >tough market is an incredible feat.

Does that number include OEM sales? ATI normally cleans up in that market. After all, how many people upgrade the video cards that came with their computer? -- "The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents." -- Nathaniel Borenstein

Who was it that said 3dfx no longer rules the 3d board market???? Vintook

On Tue, 29 Jun 1999 03:42:21 GMT,

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>>There are 2 models of the Voodoo3, the 2000 and the 3000. These two >>cards accounted for 37% of ALL the video card sales in America. One more >>time, they accounted for 37% of total sales of ALL video cards. They aren't >>just speaking of 3D video cards, but ALL video cards. That is a hell of an >>impressive stat when you consider the multitude of video cards from damn >>near everybody that can stick a chip on a board. ATI, for instance, sells a >>TON of cards as do Matrox, S3, and all the Riva cards. To hold 37% of this >>tough market is an incredible feat. >Does that number include OEM sales? ATI normally cleans up in that >market. After all, how many people upgrade the video cards that came >with their computer?

I'm not sure, but my guess is that it includes all sales. V3 is standard in a lot of new systems.. :) -- // rrevved at mindspring dot com

>>Does that number include OEM sales? ATI normally cleans up in that >>market. After all, how many people upgrade the video cards that came >>with their computer? >I'm not sure, but my guess is that it includes all sales. V3 is standard in >a lot of new systems.. :) I dunno. While I'm willing to bet that Voodoo3's accounted for that amount of retail sales, I find it very hard to believe that they've made that big a dent in the OEM market. The big OEMs usually take Matrox and ATI over NVidia and STB/3dfx by a factor of ten. -- "The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents." -- Nathaniel Borenstein

>>>Does that number include OEM sales? ATI normally cleans up in that >>>market. After all, how many people upgrade the video cards that came >>>with their computer? >>I'm not sure, but my guess is that it includes all sales. V3 is standard in >>a lot of new systems.. :) >I dunno. While I'm willing to bet that Voodoo3's accounted for that >amount of retail sales, I find it very hard to believe that they've >made that big a dent in the OEM market. The big OEMs usually take >Matrox and ATI over NVidia and STB/3dfx by a factor of ten. I think you're right. From the Ed's original post: "Overall 3dfx unit shipments accounted for 37.6 percent of all video cards sold at retail." Retail! Not OEM ... That 37+% shrinks down to single digit figures if you count OEM sales as well. Hena

No that is not the misleading part. The misleading part is while V3 is #1 in shipments and revenue that only means they shipped/sold them to the retail outlets. It's very rare when a company doesn't have the cards in stock, they are always on the shelves. This is a practice 3DFX, has done for a long time. Pretty soon their revenue will fall like a brick once the retailers have more units then they can sell. KJ > Of course these cards will sell better than others! They are the ONLY cards > using the Voodoo3 chips. If you wanted to buy a TnT2 card, you would have > at least six brands to choose from. Lets just pretend for a minute that > TnT2 sales accounted for 50% of all graphics card sales. Even if there were > only five TnT2 cards available, the best selling brand would probably have

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> no more than 30% of the total sales. > -DataFly > > http://www.cdmag.com/articles/020/194/voodoo3_may.html > > 3dfx Interactive (Nasdaq: TDFX) today announced its Voodoo3 brand > > graphics accelerator boards continue to rank as the hottest selling > > video cards in retail stores throughout North America. 3dfx Voodoo3 > > 2000 and 3000 captured the top two spots in PC Data's ranking of > > best-selling video cards for the month of May 1999. > > According to PC Data, the Voodoo3 2000 PCI was the No. 1 selling board > > in terms of both unit shipments and revenues, while the Voodoo3 3000 > > AGP was ranked second. Overall 3dfx unit shipments accounted for 37.6 > > percent of all video cards sold at retail. > > ``Once again, 3dfx-powered boards lead the retail space for 3D > > graphics products,'' said Stephen Baker, senior analyst at PC Data, > > the computer industry's primary source for software, hardware and > > video game sales information. ``Through numerous updates of 3dfx > > graphics technology, 3dfx-based products have consistently led the > > retail market throughout 1998 and 1999.'' > > More information on the Voodoo3 line of graphic accelerators can be > > found at http://www.3dfx.com. > > -- > > // rrevved at mindspring dot com

Alright, here is another scoop on exactly the same story. Now, since it was noted, and rightly so and a fact that seemed to be utterly ignored by someone else that posted, that indeed the TNT2 didn't start shipping til June, the S3s came out slightly before that and there is still the G400 to come on this month or early next month I am sure that you will see more reasonable figures, rather than the inflated ones where 3dfx was (good business move for them) able to get their cards out about a month before anyone else. Btw, I'd sure hope that a new 3D card that doesn't have any competitors for one month would be the top selling card line...if not, it has some serious problems. --------- http://www.avault.com/news/displaynews.asp?story=6281999-16126 3dfx wants everyone to hear that their graphics accelerator boards continue to be the highest selling video cards in retail stores throughout North America. 3dfx Voodoo3 2000 and 3000 once again captured the top two spots in research firm PC Data's tally of best-selling video cards for the month of May. The cards first reached retail shelves in April. According to PC Data, which measured retail sales of the video card business for the month of May, the Voodoo3 2000 PCI was the top selling board in terms of both unit shipments and revenues, while the Voodoo3 3000 AGP was placed second. Overall, 3dfx unit shipments accounted for 37.6 percent of all video cards sold at retail, while sales generated by 3dfx products were more than double those of its closest competitor. In May, the Voodoo3 3000 outsold cards based on new graphics technology from competitors, with Voodoo3 amassing 89 percent more unit shipments than Creative Labs' 3D Blaster TNT2 boards. Voodoo3 3000 also outsold Diamond Multimedia's Viper 770 and Viper 770 Ultra boards by 55 percent in terms of units. In fact, Voodoo3 3000 claimed 44 percent more unit shipments than all competing next-generation boards combined. It should be noted that the majority of TNT2 boards, including the Hercules, Creative and Diamond cards, were not released to U.S. retail until June. Only the Guillemot Maxi Xentor 32 was available at retail overseas in May.

This is just crap. Do you really think all the retailers as so stupid that they order bunch of stuff that they can't really sell? Foxbat

On Tue, 29 Jun 1999 12:53:44 -0400,

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>> No that is not the misleading part. The misleading part is while V3 is #1 >> in shipments and revenue that only means they shipped/sold them to the >> retail outlets. It's very rare when a company doesn't have the cards in >> stock, they are always on the shelves. This is a practice 3DFX, has done >> for a long time. Pretty soon their revenue will fall like a brick once >the >> retailers have more units then they can sell. >This is just crap. Do you really think all the retailers as so stupid that >they order bunch of stuff that they can't really sell?

Yeah, when you listen to his explanation, 3DFX forces retailers to stock their product. He hasn't a clue. I particularly like this quote: "It's very rare when a company doesn't have the cards in stock, they are always on the shelves. This is a practice 3DFX, has done for a long time." LOL! -- ~ rrevved at mindspring dot com ~ unit.26 - s.p.u.t.u.m. ~ http://www.cabal.net ~ http://www.sputum.com

TNT2 sales are far outstripping 3Dfx *NOW* that the TNT2 has been released. 3Dfx is quoting from last quarters sales before the TNT2 was even available. I *STILL* don't see the 3Dfx Voodoo3 3500 on store shelves. <smirk> Gotta love 3Dfx - they have made *creative* marketing a new art form. ------------------------ Sean Tudor Sydney, Australia ------------------------ This is my cannon, this is my gun One is for bandits, and one is for fun ------------------------ studor at ozemail dot com dot au

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>>Of course these cards will sell better than others! >The real misleading part is that they won top spot for the month of >May. Big Deal! The TNT2 wasn't shipping in May, the G400 wasn't >shipping in May. Tough to lose a race when you're the only entry. >Let's see how they do in November and December, there's the real test. >glen

Exactly ! :-) ------------------------ Sean Tudor Sydney, Australia ------------------------ This is my cannon, this is my gun One is for bandits, and one is for fun ------------------------ studor at ozemail dot com dot au

The real test will be the sales figures at the end of August. This is because, most people that purchased a video card between April and June, already had made up their minds which card they were going to buy and they bought them. I expect the total TNT2 sales will probably beat out 3dfx in June because everyone who decided to buy TNT2 long ago is buying it this month. In July, the V3 3500 TV will be out and will no doubt dominate that month in sales. Once all of those backorders have been placed, the month of August should be the first "fair" month of competition. It appears that because 3dfx was ready a month before TNT2, they have enjoyed a huge sales success just because they were the first to market. Now this should go as a lesson to all of us who complain that some game companies release their products way before they are ready and thus need multiple patches. The advantage of being the first to market is the most important in terms of sales ($$$). -Tim Oh wait, July is when the V3 3500TV will be released. I guess 3dfx will rule July also.

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> >3dfx Voodoo3 > >2000 and 3000 captured the top two spots in PC Data's ranking of > >best-selling video cards for the month of May 1999. > Great victory for 3dfx to win top spot for the month of May when the > TNT2 wasn't even on store shelves yet. > The TNT2s only just started shipping towards the end of may, and > they're still very difficult to get a hold of. Most people seem to > want the Hercules and it's sold out and back ordered almost > everywhere. > No trouble getting a voodoo3, go into any computer store, lots of > stock. > Get back to us in January. > glen

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>>3dfx Voodoo3 >>2000 and 3000 captured the top two spots in PC Data's ranking of >>best-selling video cards for the month of May 1999. >Great victory for 3dfx to win top spot for the month of May when the >TNT2 wasn't even on store shelves yet. >The TNT2s only just started shipping towards the end of may, and >they're still very difficult to get a hold of. Most people seem to >want the Hercules and it's sold out and back ordered almost >everywhere. >No trouble getting a voodoo3, go into any computer store, lots of >stock. >Get back to us in January.

Who is us?

Yeah, but then again, you have people out there like me... I have two computers in the house and about ten video cards... :') Danny

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> >There are 2 models of the Voodoo3, the 2000 and the 3000. These two > >cards accounted for 37% of ALL the video card sales in America. One more > >time, they accounted for 37% of total sales of ALL video cards. They aren't > >just speaking of 3D video cards, but ALL video cards. That is a hell of an > >impressive stat when you consider the multitude of video cards from damn > >near everybody that can stick a chip on a board. ATI, for instance, sells a > >TON of cards as do Matrox, S3, and all the Riva cards. To hold 37% of this > >tough market is an incredible feat. > Does that number include OEM sales? ATI normally cleans up in that > market. After all, how many people upgrade the video cards that came > with their computer? > -- > "The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents." -- Nathaniel Borenstein

Very true. The point here I think is all the TNT2 pre-release hype, which was considerable, didn't impact Voodoo3 sales one iota. They won the month when they were released even though that was mid-month, and won the next month when people knew the TNT2 was right around the corner and/or actually on the shelf. If people really thought they needed all the TNT2 stuff they'd have waited a week or two, and not bought a Voodoo3 - which obviously didn't happen. What people also don't get, those that bought one of these aren't going to buy something for a good while, so that is a sale lost to TNT2 or G400 or whatever, for being slower to market by a full month or more. -- Ken's Sig 3.0 "Who is the more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?" - Obi-Wan Kenobi Go #43 and #44! volksy (at) geocities (dot) com volksy (at) yahoo (dot) com >>Now, since it was >>noted, and rightly so and a fact that seemed to be utterly ignored by >>someone else that posted, that indeed the TNT2 didn't start shipping til >>June, >Not true, go check out www.riva3d.com 's new archive and you'll >find on May 8 "Leadtek Ships Ultra TNT-2", May 16 "Diamond Viper 770 at Bets >Buy"May 17 "V770 Spotted at CompUSA", May 21 "viper 770Ultra in stores now". >I remember seeing the Leadtek TNT2 in May at Fry's and they had plenty of >them so supply was not a problem. >Another thing is that the V3 didn't sell the full month of April either yet >manage the capture the top 3 spots for the month of April.

Well, we'll see if this is actually the case - maybe the TNT2 will crack into the Top 5 video cards this month, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the Voodoo's right up there at the top again. What I think everyone trying to knock these figures is missing, is the TNT2 was hyped for a LONG time before it was available, and it WAS available for over half the month. If it was THAT compelling of a product, people would've waited another week or two and bought them in droves the last half of the month. Remember too, the V3 was out mid-April, and STILL got the top spot that month, and that a TNT card only cracked the top 5 ONCE, while Voodoo2's were in there once, twice or even three times for most of the time since they were released until recently. -- Ken's Sig 3.0 "Who is the more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?" - Obi-Wan Kenobi Go #43 and #44! volksy (at) geocities (dot) com volksy (at) yahoo (dot) com >>Of course these cards will sell better than others! They are the ONLY cards >>using the Voodoo3 chips. If you wanted to buy a TnT2 card, you would have >>at least six brands to choose from. Lets just pretend for a minute that >>TnT2 sales accounted for 50% of all graphics card sales. Even if there were >>only five TnT2 cards available, the best selling brand would probably have >>no more than 30% of the total sales. >TNT2 sales are far outstripping 3Dfx *NOW* that the TNT2 has been >released. 3Dfx is quoting from last quarters sales before the TNT2 >was even available. >I *STILL* don't see the 3Dfx Voodoo3 3500 on store shelves. <smirk> >Gotta love 3Dfx - they have made *creative* marketing a new art form. >------------------------ >Sean Tudor >Sydney, Australia >------------------------ >This is my cannon, this is my gun >One is for bandits, and one is for fun >------------------------ >studor at ozemail dot com dot au

Yes, you are right, my bad. Indeed Leadtek shipped a small quantity near the first of May. And Diamond did near mid to end come out with the Viper series...however, comparing the sales a partial release throughout the month to the sales of a product that got released at the end of April is rather stupid. Alright, so what? Were there any other "next-generation" cards such as the V3 out in April? The answer is no.

Either that, or they believed the 3dfx hype which was more than the TNT2 hype. I haven't seen any NVidia commercials, but I sure have seen those 3dfx commercials hyping the over-rated Voodoo3s. <shrugs> But then again, since I've had all three (Voodoo2, Voodoo3 and TNT2Ultra) I personally compare the TNT2 Ultra (though their sales wont ever be as bad) to GPL. Um, yes, so? Those that bought TNT, etc cards the month before the Voodoo3s probably didn't go out and buy Voodoo3 cards either. So your point is what?

Go figure.. at a clock rate standard of 175mhz when the other Ultras are only at the 150mhz clock rate I can understand that one. Luckily I pre-ordered mine. :_ Yeah, lots of Voodoo3 1000 and Voodoo3 2000s is what I've seen.

Maybe...there are some TNT2 cards with TV out (i.e. the Hercules has two versions....not sure which ones else off the top of my head) and the G400 has probably the best monitor/tv setups of them all. And had a huge marketing campaign with tv/radio spots. :)

<snip> I just have a couple questions. Does GPL run at 36fps (with all eye candy) on the TNT2 Ultra at 1024/768? I would really like to get a TNT2 Ultra but can I use my Voodoo2 with it? If the TNT2 Ultra can't do it then I would pretty much be forced to get a Voodoo3. I might miss out on the 32bit textures of some of the new games like Quake3, but then I would rather play an ultra smooth game at 16bit then a choppy one at 32. Vintook

I have it all turned on, and detail slider just over half way and yes it does at least on the Hercules TNT2 Ultra. Yes, the V2 is an add-on card, so you could either use the Glide(V2) or OpenGL(TNT2) rasterizer in GPL. If you do get a TNT2 card, make sure you hold onto the Voodoo2 until you are satisfied with the performance of the TNT2. I can definetly say that Quake3 at 32bit color, 32bit textures and at 1024x768 is as smooth as silk on a P2400. :) And there is a vast difference than running in 16bit color and 16 bit/compressed textures.