Phantom
Announced in 2002, the Phantom games console was going to be a system capable of playing PC games, and utilised a direct-download delivery method, similar to how Valve's Steam service currently operates on PCs. Games would be stored on an internal 80GB hard drive. A monthly subscription option was to be available, served as a two-year contract. This would allow people to get the console for 'free', but was effectively just a fancy form of credit.
Interestingly, the components inside the Phantom were simple over-the-counter products available to anyone, raising the interesting question of whether this was simply a small PC with an on-demand front-end interface. The last specifications we know of included an AMD Athlon XP 2500+ CPU, an Nvidia GeForce FX 5700 Ultra GPU, a measly 256MB RAM and support for Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio.
But the console was never released, and during its development reportedly managed to swallow around £30m -- enough for a holiday for two to the International Space Station. Probably a better way to spend your VC funding.
As a matter of fact...
The on-demand software function of the Phantom has metamorphosed into a casual games system, reportedly signed up for use in hotels around the world. There's no word on whether it's being used in the International Space Station.
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