24 years ago today, 3dfx, the pioneering 3D graphics accelerator company, closed down. Closing notice was sent via 3dfx’s final press release, Apologize Express gratitude to customers and fans for the drastic action they were forced to take. Facing bankruptcy at the end of 2000, 3dfx’s shareholders agreed to sell its brand and assets to nVidia to obtain “the best possible outcome” for creditors, investors and employees. Although the company is no longer around, it is still fondly remembered by many seasoned PC tech enthusiasts, and we still see enthusiasm for retro 3dfx hardware and projects.
The three founders of 3dfx certainly could not have imagined that their company’s fate would be so brilliant, yet so short-lived. 3dfx’s first product, the Voodoo Graphics 3D chip, was put into production in November 1995, but it was not launched to consumers through PCI add-in cards until COMDEX in October of the following year.
Owners of Voodoo Graphics PCI cards enjoy unprecedented 3D visual stimulation, an experience that only this 500 nm chip running at 50 MHz can provide consumers, powered by a powerful 4MB of EDO RAM. This specialized 3D card (which had to be paired with a 2D accelerator in a PC) had a huge impact on groundbreaking 3D games of the time, such as Doom and Quake. Games must use the Glide API to take advantage of Voodoo’s power, but the improvements in graphics quality and performance are unprecedented.
The original Voodoo was a huge success with a new generation of PC gamers. It became the object of desire for every 3D gaming enthusiast, and 3dfx tried to keep up the momentum with 1997’s Voodoo Rush and 1998’s Voodoo2. The lead is gradually being eroded.
Around the same time, in the final months of the 1990s, a series of unfortunate events reached a breaking point. 3dfx’s acquisition of graphics card manufacturer STB did not go as planned. It wasted money on the acquisition of chip manufacturer Gigapixel, while its competitors benefited from the rise of chip manufacturers. Microsoft The Direct3D API, a patent court battle with nVidia loomed, Voodoo product launches were delayed, and general internal strife continued. All of this means that 3dfx believes the best approach is to fold.
When it went bankrupt, the precious 3dfx patents fell to nVidia, and many 3dfx engineers found new homes on the green team. We’ve seen some tantalizing jokes in recent years The return of 3dfxeven though we know it can’t be true, it’s still disappointing when it happens there is nothing It does happen.
3dfx seems to be too iconic a brand to sit dormant forever and be ignored by its owners. However, unless we see signs to the contrary, the best hope for 3dfx’s legacy may now lie in the hearts, minds, and hands of enthusiasts and makers alike – as with so many once-venerable retro technologies. Earlier this year, we reported on the fascinating developments VoodooX project. We also saw some sky-high price In recent years, this has been achieved through rare vintage Voodoo hardware.