How Could You Die 3dfx?  How?

Wednesday, December 20, 2000 - David Filip

This is something that I’m sure is on everyone’s mind.  3dfx, the original success in PC 3D graphics hardware acceleration, is a goner.  It’s dead in the water, and likely to be dead everywhere else too.

However, if you recall the days of SLI Voodoo 2, they were way in the lead, and opponents like Rendition couldn’t even eat 3dfx’s dust.  Therefore, it begs the question.  How could the company *fold its cards today (so to speak) when it held such a commanding lead only two ago?  Here are a few theories:

* Young gamers should ask their parents what it means to fold in a card game like poker.  Do not attempt to fold 3D cards at home without your elders’ permission.

Hang Gliding
In the 1980’s Apple refused young software writer Bill Gates’ request to focus the software OS instead of keeping the proprietary Apple OS on proprietary Apple hardware at high proprietary Apple prices.  So what happened?  Young Billy focused on selling an OS to the cheaper IBM-compatible PCs out there.  By the time Apple realized they could have monopolized ALL personal computers with different flavors of their Macintosh OS, their mistake bit them in the ass.

Likewise, it may have been advantageous for 3dfx to squeeze out their earlier competitors with a proprietary API like Glide, but times change.  OpenGL already existed, but OpenGL didn’t have Microsoft’s marketing muscle.  Direct3D’s “code once, play on any D3D card” had gone from a nice idea to an accepted part of the video game development business, and it was only a matter of time before someone made a D3D card that could compete with the speed of 3dfx’s Glide.  That card was from NVIDIA.