NVIDIA is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the GeForce 3, a landmark graphics processing unit (GPU) that introduced programmable shaders to the industry. The GeForce 3 played a critical role in the development of several groundbreaking games, including The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and DOOM 3, laying the foundation for modern game graphics technology.
The company is inviting the public to join in commemorating this milestone, sharing their favorite early 2000s games and the stories behind them. This celebration recognizes a pivotal moment in the history of PC graphics development.
First unveiled at the Tokyo Macworld Expo on March 2001, the GeForce 3 featured the NV20 graphics processor, built on a 150-nanometer process and containing 57 million transistors with 64MB of memory. The demonstration at the time, still fondly remembered by PC gamers, featured David Kirk, then NVIDIA’s Chief Scientist and Vice President of Architecture, taking the stage after Apple CEO Steve Jobs to detail the nFinite FX engine and showcase the power of programmable shaders – a significant shift from fixed-function pipelines.
Kirk also demonstrated Pixar’s Luxo Jr., showcasing the realistic soft shadows and warm lighting effects on the iconic desk lamp. Id Software co-founder John Carmack then debuted the highly anticipated DOOM 3, which utilized a then-revolutionary unified real-time per-pixel lighting engine, powered by the GeForce 3 hardware.
The GeForce 3 subsequently supported a number of other classic titles.
NVIDIA is also sharing stories and game footage on its GeForce social media channels. NVIDIA’s Jacob Freeman will be sharing his insights and demonstrating gameplay on a desktop PC running Windows XP with a classic CRT display, recreating the experience of the era.
