More 8800 GTS cards on the way

Graphics giants go head to head on naming strategies, reports Fellacia Smoothly

In an industry where regular changes in branding are the norm, it’s great to see a company making a stand. The passing of legendary product names is always tinged with sadness, so Nvidia has decided enough is enough. From now and forever more, the company’s flagship graphics will be called the GeForce 8800GTS.

‘Our strategy of releasing entirely different products with the same name has already met with considerable industry approval’, explained Nvidia’s Madam Coat at the launch of the second version of GeForce 8800GTS in November. ‘It reassures the buying public that the product they purchase now will never become obsolete, except in its underlying technology.’

Nvidia plans to release a new product every day for the next year, although many will just re-establish popular brands of the past, such as the forthcoming GeForce 7800GTX and GeForce 4 Ti, which are the same as the 8800GTS. Mainstream and budget models will also receive classic model names of bygone eras, with a cut-down version of G92 imminent, to be called the 6600GT, and another identical card named the Riva TNT 2 on the roadmap.

But Nvidia’s main competitor, ATI, will be taking a radically different strategy. It plans to add 1000 to every range it launches, irregardless of whether it’s a new product line or not. The latest Radeon HD 3000 will be followed next month with the Radeon HD 4000 series, also using the same RV670 GPU. ATI intends to release products based on RV670 until 2037, by which time they will be called the Radeon HD 363,000 series.

Christmas game wars

Latvian blockbusters could outsell Halo 3, reports Benjamin Meister-Chef

Just when it looked like Halo 3 was the ultimate game of 2007, its ascendancy could already be under threat. A slew of new titles from Latvian developer Spongy Studios will be arriving just in time to take Christmas by storm.


Spongy’s first volley will be Puritan Territory: Quaker Wars, another title using the Dumb 3 engine. This innovative Enormously Multiplayer Online Role-Playing First-Person Real-Time Strategy Shooter (EMORPFPRTSS) gives you the choice of two teams. The Global Persecution Force gets powerful guns but must stay within the Old World. Alternatively, you can join one of the five classes of Puritan, none of which are allowed to use weapons, but have the ability to run away to the New World.

Based on the HP Sauce engine, TIM Fortress 2 is also shaping up to be a classic. You must defend yourself against the evil Netburst aliens, . It’s a challenging game, and will focus on personalised single-player action (PSPA) rather than online play.

‘There’s no “I” in “Team”, but there is in “TIM”’, explained Spongy’s Rodrigo Tarmac.

HellCatflap Ibiza is set in a post-apocalyptic Spanish holiday resort, which has been invaded by drunken English tourists. In this role-playing game with first-person shooter elements (RPGWFPSE), you play a Spanish shopkeeper trying to defend the tranquillity of the island from marauding British demons. The action is set to a heady dance remix by Pete Tong, and comes with a free six-pack of lager.

Spongy has even created a special Yuletide episode of its current money-spinner Crisis, with a story based on AMD’s recent product launches. With so many titles on the market, it’s sure to be ‘game on’ for Spongy Studios this Christmas!