‘We probably sold millions of boards because of that game, and it was magnificent’: 3dfx cofounder gives Quake a ‘great deal of credit for our overall success’
The 3dfx Voodoo graphics card is celebrating its 30th anniversary, with company cofounder Ross Smith recently reflecting on the card’s historic commercial success. Speaking with Club386, Smith emphasized the profound impact of id Software’s legendary shooter Quake, crediting the game with driving millions of Voodoo board sales throughout the 1990s. While Quake itself launched in June 1996, the true catalyst came with GLQuake, which introduced cutting-edge 3D hardware acceleration—making the Voodoo card essential for optimal gaming experiences. Smith describes the relationship between game and graphics card as “magnificent,” noting that Quake’s technological demands created ideal market conditions for the Voodoo’s explosive growth. This retrospective highlights a pivotal moment in PC gaming history when software and hardware innovation aligned perfectly. The symbiotic relationship between Quake’s revolutionary success and the Voodoo’s market dominance illustrates how a landmark title can fundamentally reshape the hardware landscape and define a company’s legacy during the mid-1990s PC gaming boom.