3dfx Timeline
1994
3Dfx Incorporates.
Gordon Campbell, founder of SEEQ Technology and Chips and Technologies in the 1980s, establishes 3dfx Interactive with Chief Scientist Gary Tarolli, Principal Engineer Scott Sellers, and Marketing Executive Ross Smith.
1995
March 27, 1995 - 3Dfx Interactive Receives $5.5 Million In Initial Funding.
November 6, 1995 - At COMDEX, 3dfx unveils Voodoo Graphics™, a 3D graphics accelerator specifically designed for 3D entertainment applications in the coin-operated/arcade and home consumer markets.
November 6, 1995 - Orchid & 3Dfx Interactive To Deliver Righteous 3D To Retail Market.
November 6, 1995 - Leading Video Game Developers Announce Support For 3Dfx Interactive Voodoo Graphics.
November 27, 1995 - 3Dfx Interactive Announces Technical Cooperation Agreement With Alliance Semiconductor.
1996
March 4, 1996 - 3Dfx Interactive Receives Over $11.6 Million In Second Round Of Funding.
March 20, 1996- Micronics Computers, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Orchid Technology, today announced a strategic alliance with 3Dfx Interactive, Inc. to develop an integrated system solution for the arcade game industry and peripheral products for the personal computer market. Orchid Technology will develop its "Righteous 3D" TM graphics accelerator card based on the 3Dfx Voodoo chipset and Glide API.
May 16, 1996 - 3Dfx Interactive Introduces First 3D Coin-Op Game That Runs On Voodoo Graphics.
August 1996- Voodoo Rush announced.
August 5, 1996 - 3Dfx Interactive Delivers Explosive 3D Graphics To The PC Via OEM Partnership With Diamond Multimedia.
August 28, 1996 - 3Dfx Interactive Announces Popular Tomb Raider Game Powered By Voodoo Graphics' Mindblowing Capabilities.
October 7, 1996- Orchid Technology has begun shipping its highly anticipated Righteous 3D. $299
October 14, 1996 - 3Dfx Interactive Announces The Voodoo Graphics Version Of Activision's Award-Winning MechWarrior® 2.
November 18, 1996- At Comdex Hercules and 3dfx show off Rush 128/3d "sandwich card."
December 2, 1996 - 3Dfx Interactive Announces Availability Of Highest Performance Realtime 3D PC Graphics Accelerator In History.
December 9, 1996 - 3Dfx Interactive Receives Another $11.6 Million In Its Third Round Of Financing.
1997
February 1997- 3dfx agrees to make chipsets for Sega Dreamcast console.
February 10, 1997- 3Dfx Interactive Takes Quake™ Into Another Dimension With Voodoo Graphics™ Support For Smash Net Game Hit.
March 31, 1997- Quantum3d founded.
April 8, 1997- 3Dfx & Quantum3D announce strategic relationship. Quantum3D will enter the market as the sole distributor of 3Dfx's Obsidian GraphicsTM family of realtime 3D graphics accelerator boards which have been shipping commercially since last summer.
April 1997- Hercules 128/3d Rush released.
June 1997- Hercules single plane 128/3d Rush released.
September 1997- Jazz Multimedia and Intergraph release cards based on the new 3dfx reference Rush design. Hercules also released a new card, the S3318TV. It is not based on the 3dfx reference design, but instead is a proprietary design which had 8 megabytes of RAM, a TV-out port, and had a 10% faster clock-speed than the original design.
September 1997- Sega breaks Dreamcast contract with 3dfx and 3dfx sues for breach of contract.
November 17, 1997- Quantum3d announces upcoming Voodoo 2 support & products.
November-December 1997 Voodoo 2 announced.
December 1, 1997- Creative Technology Ltd. (NASDAQ:CREAF), the world's leading provider of multimedia products for the PC, today announced 3D Blaster™ Voodoo2, the gaming industry's fastest new 3D accelerator card to utilize the newly announced Voodoo 2 Graphics™ chip from 3Dfx Interactive.
1998
January 20, 1998 Creative Labs first vendor to release Voodoo 2 on public, Diamond follows close behind.
March 31, 1998- Quantum3d announces Obsidian2 line, opens on-line store.
April 1998- Quantum3d starts selling & shipping Obsidian2 products in volume.
June 1998- Micronics Computers, Inc. (Including it's Orchid division) acquired by Diamond Multimedia.
June 8, 1998- Quantum3D Obsidian2 S/X Products to Hit Retail Shelves
June 22,1998 - 3DFx Interactive, Inc today introduced its much anticipated product to broaden its platform for 3D gaming and penetrate the PC OEM market: Voodoo Banshee, which fully integrate 2D and 3D graphics in a single, powerful chip. Voodoo Banshee combines an entirely new 2D engine with the core of its most powerful 3D-only chipset, Voodoo2.
June 26, 1998- Guillemot releases Voodoo 2 based Maxi Gamer 3D II for sale.
July 1, 1998- Canopus Pure 3D II 12Mb, Canopus Pure 3D II LX 12Mb and Pure 3D LX 6Mb cards are available now.
Summer 1998- 3dfx settles with Sega winning lawsuit.
September 22, 1998- 3dfx sues Nvidia for multi-texture patent infringement.
October 1st? 1998- Banshee cards released for sale.
November 3, 1998- Wicked3D Vengeance (3Dfx Banshee) has been released.
November 16, 1998- 3dfx announces Voodoo 3.
December 14, 1998- 3dfx announced it was going to acquire STB systems and start making their own cards, Voodoo 3 delayed 5 months due to merger.
In 1998 3dfx ships its four millionth Voodoo chipset, more than doubling its 1997 installed base of 1.5 million within the first five months of 1998 and making it the fastest growing of all current game platforms. The company adds Micron, Compaq, Packard Bell and Gateway and others to its growing list of PC OEMs.
3dfx products power 73 percent of the performance/gaming video cards sold through retail outlets. PC Data reports 3dfx-powered boards were the retail bestsellers 12 out of 12 months in 1998. 3dfx-based products also dominated the retail space in Q4 1998, claming the top five spots in the gaming/performance segment.
1999
April 7, 1999- Voodoo 3-2000 and 3000 cards released. $129.99 and $179.99
May 15, 1999- STB merger complete.
June 24, 1999- 3dfx announces generic Voodoo 2 & Voodoo3 Drivers for the Mac
July 19, 1999- Mac Voodoo 2 Reference Drivers Released
July 27, 1999- 3dfx Announces Velocity Brand.
July 30, 1999- V3-3500 released. $249
October 17, 1999- Voodoo3 3000 PCI Released
November 15, 1999- Quantum3d announces AAlchemy system based on VSA-100
November 17, 1999- Comdex computer show 3dfx announces the Voodoo4 4500, Voodoo5 5000, Voodoo5 5500 & Voodoo5 6000.
2000
March 2000- 3dfx purchases Gigapixel
May 5, 2000- Voodoo 5500 cards start shipping but are recalled on the 25th for possible power supply problems.
June 9, 2000- Voodoo 5500 cards ship again.
August 10, 2000- Mac 5500 PCI cards available.
August 28, 2000- Nvidia counter sues 3dfx for patent infringement
October, 2000- V4-4500 released.
November 13, 2000- 3dfx Licenses 4-Way SLI Technology to Quantum3D
December 15, 2000- 3dfx closes it's doors and sells off it's assets to Nvidia.