ApeXtreme Hardware Release 'On Hold'

The ApeXtreme, a PC-based 'game console' to be produced by the U.S. DVD player manufacturer Apex, appears to be on semi-permanent hiatus, according to reports surfacing online earlier this week. Intended for use in playing PC games on TV with a minimum of installation and maintenance hassle, Apex intended to market the curiously named ApeXtreme toward more casual consumers who were unwilling to pay high prices for do-it-yourself PC upgrades. The key to the system was to have been Digital Interactive Systems Corporation's DISCover technology, a game-recognition database that would handle the work of installing and optimizing the PC games. Though DISCover has seen use in currently available platforms, the ApeXtreme will not be one of them: "I don't think we will be working with [Apex] on a product," DISC spokesman Kurt Kaiser commented in a statement to gaming weblog Kotaku. "There was a lot of consumer demand and industry excitement for the product, and we are disappointed they were unable to bring it to market." Apex employees insist that the project is on hiatus rather than cancelled outright, but the company's growing problems -- including the fraud-related arrest of company chairman David Ji in China -- mean that it may be time for interested consumers to move on. One possible alternative, Infinium Labs' Phantom, is due to make an appearance at the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show, despite continuing rumors over Infiniums future.