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History of video games/Platforms/ApeXtreme

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History

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Ontario, California, the origin of Apex Digital.[1]

Apex Digital was founded in 1997.[1]

The ApeXtreme was set to launch in spring, and then the summer of 2004 at a cost of around $399 for the full unit, and $299 for a reduced capability console.[2][3] The announcement of revised specifications around March 2004 also included raising the price to $499.[4] This would also cause VIA to seek a partner in the handheld gaming space,[5] which they would find in the VIA MOMA.

At E3 2004 Apex Digital showed support for DISCover.[6]

In December 2004 the chairman of Apex Digital was arrested by authorities in China on charges of fraud.[7] At the time Apex had 113 employees.[7]

By January 3rd, 2005 development on the ApeXtreme was postponed, with DISCover support being dropped from the planned console.[8]

Technology

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CES 2004 Specs

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Compute

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The ApeXtreme uses a VIA CN400 processor clocked at 1.4 gigahertz[9]

The GPU of the ApeXtreme is a S3 DeltaChrome.[9]

Hardware

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The ApeXtreme had planned to use a 40 gigabyte IDE hard drive and a DVD player for storage.[9][3][10]

Via Vinyl Audio was going to be used to offer Dolby 5.1 sound output.[9]

The ApeXtreme offered 10/100 megabit ethernet, and also a dial up modem with a speed of 56.6 kilobits per second for internet connectivity.[11][9]

Software

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The ApeXtreme runs an embedded version of Windows XP.[3][10]

Mid 2004 specs

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Compute

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An AMD Athlon XP 2000+ processor, similar to the one that would be found in the ApeXtreme.

The ApeXtreme was supposed to use an AMD Athlon XP 2000+ processor.[4][12]

 
An nForce 2 chipset, similar to the one used on the ApeXtreme.

The ApeXtreme was set to use a GeForce 4MX GPU built into a motherboard using the nForce2 chipset by Biostar.[4][12]

RAM used was 256 megabytes of DDR SDRAM clocked at 256 Megahertz.[4][13]

Hardware

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The revised system still included a 40 gigabyte hard drive.[4][12]

The ApeXtreme was supposed to be capable of recording video.[4][12]

Notable games

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The ApeXtreme was intended to play existing PC games.[3]

External Resources

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Wikipedia has related information at ApeXtreme

References

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  1. ↑ a b "Apex Digital, Inc. -- Company History". www.company-histories.com. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "Nine Toys the Techies Are Drooling For". Washington Post. 21 March 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  3. ↑ a b c d "CES04 Live: Driving to Convergence". Sound & Vision. 11 January 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f "Widescreen Review Webzine News Apex Digital Announces Final Specifications And Partners For Its Revolutionary ApeXtreme DVD Player And PC Game Console". www.widescreenreview.com. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  5. ↑ "VIA Plans Handheld Gaming Console?". Neoseeker. https://www.neoseeker.com/news/3342-via-plans-handheld-gaming-console/. 
  6. ↑ Becker, David. "Game handhelds to take spotlight at E3" (in en). ZDNet. https://www.zdnet.com/article/game-handhelds-to-take-spotlight-at-e3/. 
  7. ↑ a b "US company boss arrested in China". 30 December 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  8. ↑ Maragos, Nich. "Gamasutra - The Art & Business of Making Games". www.gamasutra.com. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  9. ↑ a b c d e "Spot On: The ApeXtreme PC Game Console". GameSpot. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  10. ↑ a b "VIA/Apex Game Console Details Leaked - Slashdot". games.slashdot.org. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  11. ↑ "mini-itx.com - news - ApeXtreme Gaming Console shown at CES". www.mini-itx.com. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  12. ↑ a b c d "ApeXtreme specs revamped". The Tech Report. 26 March 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  13. ↑ "E3 2004: DISCover Discovered - IGN". Retrieved 12 November 2020.
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