Nvidia and 3dfx release their second quarter financials, and everyone has an opinion.

I wonder if 3dfx' management has received a barrage of hate mail. Judging by the discussions on various investor bulletin boards, 3dfx' management is to blame for the company's recent performance. However, as usual, 3dfx' events seemed to have unjustly overshadowed the more upbeat information coming out of Nvidia. It's a sign of the times, when superficial judgements, and phony rivalries, are grist for the mill for your average Web commentator. Of course, I am covering the same two stories myself, and deserve to be dragged across hot coals for it, but I hope that my arrogance will prevail in this instance.

First of all, for all those 3dfx investors and fanatics who may think otherwise, the sky has not fallen. There was an eclipse some time back, but that didn't have any material impact on either 3dfx or Nvidia sales. I am pretty certain of that. As for the question of whether 3dfx' management is responsible for the company's problems, well, the buck stops somewhere, but I can't judge where, and neither can any outsider. 3dfx' management are only guilty of playing the role of spin doctors, at the expense of some substantive discussion of the issues, judging by the conference call presentation they gave of the company's results. They're not the first, and will not be the last to fudge on a disappointing quarter. All I know is that the burden of expectation on 3dfx has been proven unreasonable, and that the cyclical nature of graphics dominance continues to work its magic, or should that be voodoo, on anyone who tries to defy it. In other words, leapfrog is the game of choice for graphics companies. I am sure someone has a formula for making money on graphics chip stocks knowing this; one goes up, the other goes down, etc. Very predictable.