ATI has disappointed a lot of loyal fans and customers over the past few months and has taken a lot of heat for low supplies, paper releases and bad releases. The X700 and X800 were scarce and pricey, Crossfire crossed paths with a lot of hardware reviewers who didn't take kindly too it. ATI's paid a price for all that, and has posted a loss of over $100 Million for the end of 2005. Hopefully, though, this will encourage ATI to do better - and they say it will.
David Orton, ATI's CEO said: "We are entering fiscal 2006 with new products and an intense focus on operational and financial performance. We've delivered top-to-bottom technology and performance leadership with the Radeon X1000 series."
It's in the best interest of enthusiasts to see all the big players pushing for innovation and value. ATI has a lot of incentive to make people very happy in 2006, which hopefully means we'll see some great product. nVidia is very happy to be king right now, and the 7800 GTX is a tough act to follow.