The Phantom Is Hardware No Longer

The former Phantom console is now a software service for Windows XP.

After years of re-branding and scandal, the Phantom console has opted out of creating a piece of hardware in favor of having the consumers provide their own. The Phantom was a console machine that would download PC games from the Phantom server and display them on your television. The re-launched "Phantom Entertainment" website has done away with the actual unit, offering instead to sell users the Phantom Game Service software and a monthly subscription fee to run the program on their own Windows XP computers.

The website notes that one of the requirements is a "high definition or standard television" which means you would have to plug your computer into your TV for the software to work. There is no word on the website as to why a regular monitor would not be suitable. There is currently no price or release date available for the new service.

The Phantom Lapboard peripheral has also been delayed from the original October release date and will be sold separately for $129.95 US in November.