In unprecedented news for this console generation, a newly formed startup company has announced that they’re developing a gaming console that will actually work when you plug it in. Amidst rumors that the Xbox One won’t be able to play games until patched, and as news rolls in of first-day patch woes with the recently released PlayStation 4, word of a console that you can play after you buy it has outpaced the spread of cute cat videos.
“We wanted to step back and really reconsider this generation of web-accessible consoles and digital-only distribution,” the lead developer for the project, F. Aikman, said in a press conference. “With our console, we hope to shake things up and create a solid device that will work as advertised from day one. We don’t want our customers to worry that they might lose their games if the Internet goes out, or that they won’t have enough space on the console’s internal storage device. That’s why we’re planning on releasing all our games on physical media we’re calling ‘Cartridges’. That’s the code name for the project, anyway; we’re researching whether the term has been used before.”
The console, dubbed the “PlayBox” for its ability to play games out of the box, is anticipated to run on Android 4.3—a step above its direct competitors in the startup console market. Running a newer, but still outdated, version of Android will give it an edge over the Ouya, GamePop, GameStick, M.O.J.O., Nvidia Shield, Archos GamePad, and Wikipad. No word yet on how it might compare to the Steam Machine.
Current talk speculates other forward-looking features such as a minimal OS with fast load times, allowing gamers to start playing their game as soon as the console is booted up. Others are hoping that play data can be saved on the game’s storage media, allowing gamers the freedom to play using their saved data no matter whose console they play on. F. Aikman has yet to state any of this officially, but posts on the development blog have hinted that such futuristic concepts may be a reality in the near future.
As a site that’s actively involved in next-generation gaming, GameCola is excited to hear about the PlayBox and a potential answer to the common complaints of modern game systems. Maybe this console will take hold of the market and we can finally say goodbye to fads like Internet access and digital releases. This reporter sure hopes so!
“F. Aikman.” Clever.