Nemesis11
Power Member
Shocking news my friends,
Wednesday afternoon I received a telephone call from my contact at Guillemot/Hercules who briefed me on a new development. I'll make it short and simple, the Hercules division is going to stop producing and selling 3D Graphics cards, extremely disturbing and surprising news.
Remember, this news comes straight from the source; this is not a rumor !
The position for Hercules is as follows, they do not make enough profit on the graphics cards devision, that and chipset manufacturers (ATI, NVIDIA) these days set more and more restraints and limits on the end product. ATI is restricting Hercules to modify their products, they are no longer allowed to alter it's BIOS or overclock the card. They are confined within the design specifications of the reference sample which they also receive really late, too late to even modify the design towards the cool product as you know it.
Thus Hercules no longer can modify it's graphics cards on time even if they wanted to; with 23 other manufacturers margins are getting too small. After weeks of discussion the higher-management they decided to pull the plug on their sales of graphics cards completely. If Hercules is can't differentiate it's product on-time or at all then all products will become slowly the same; and to sell a product you need to be different compared to the competition. The margins made on graphics cards is already low, you can only imagine what kind of effect this has based on profit alone. The graphics card business is a tough one.
Next to 3D graphics cards, they are also halting their LCD monitor line due to the fact that there are shortages on the market. Hercules can't get LCD's with the high-quality level they want (low dead pixel count etc) that versus the right price due to that shortage. Hercules asked me to get this message across towards you. If you bought or will buy a Hercules product these days, Hercules ensures that the after-sales service will be continued, you will remain to have your warrantee on their current products.
I just confirmed that Hercules already halted shipments to it's distributors, yet I expect that it'll take a month or two before all Hercules Graphics cards and ProphetView LCD's will be sold out.
What's next for Hercules, well since graphics cards and LCD monitors was like 50% of it's sales Hercules is moving into it's most profitable solution big-time. They will now dedicate themselves on Soundcards, Speakers, Video Editing products, TV-card products ect ect. You can expect a wide variety of new products quite soon. You'll see the announcements and following product reviews here on Guru3D.com
So there you have it, Hercules is still very alive and active in the branch, yet they are moving out of the 3D Graphics cards and LCD sector.
What an incredible loss in the 3D Arena fellow Guru's , because Hercules Graphics cards where _really_ good.
Update: and here's confirmation of this info by a press-release I just received from Guillemot:
Carentoir, February 25, 2004
In view of the success of the new Hercules music lines (DJ Console, Muse Pocket) and the sizeable demand for its Thrustmaster gaming and mobile accessories, Guillemot Corporation has decided to focus on these product ranges with high added value.
The Group has therefore elected to progressively withdraw from the graphics board and monitor markets, which have been producing very weak gross margins, in order to mobilize all of its resources towards the development of markets with strong potential.
Guillemot Corporation will thus re-center its activities on new growth markets which will allow the company to best respond to users’ new expectations. The Group has begun adapting its teams and business structures to this new configuration with a view towards profitability.
Moreover, the Group’s Research and Development department is currently at work fine-tuning a range of products employing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies in order to provide a complete solution combining the potential and comfort of use of wireless connections with the quality and ergonomics of Hercules and Thrustmaster.
http://www.guru3d.com/newsitem.php?id=1163