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.