Just yesterday, Slightly Mad Studios revealed a new console that they are launching called the Mad Box and the aim is to take on the big names in the gaming market that have laid claim to this industry for years. With the gaming community – and what platforms even mean anymore – constantly evolving, can this new platform be deemed a true competitor?
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For those that missed the initial reveal, the founder of Slightly Mad Dog Studios tweeted out a simple “The Mad Box is coming.” He then spoke a little bit with Variety to elaborate on what that truly means for the company and gamers alike.
“It will support most major VR headsets and those upcoming and the specs will be equivalent to a ‘very fast PC 2 years from now’,” Bell explained. “We’re in early talks with manufacturers of components so we can’t say much more right now other than we have the designs specced out in detail.”
But what is the console, truly? “It’s the most powerful console ever built… It’s literally ‘Mad’… You want 4k, you want VR at 60FPS? You want a full engine for free to develop your games on it? You have it.”
He then clarified that it will be 120fps while offering games from all types of developers, both big and small – old and new. The main goal is to be a standalone platform and because of that, a lot of the power lies in the developer’s hands. “We think exclusives are ‘exclusionary’ but given that we’ll be shipping a cross platform engine to all developers it will be their choice,” Bell wrote. “As of now we have no plans to pay developers ‘incentives’ to exclude other hardware vendors.”
According to Bell, the Mad Box is the answer to the growing monopoly problem. He mentioned that there is too much “micro oligopoly” going on now with the current industry and it’s taking competition to a point that actually hurts the community. The Mad Box aims to correct that monopoly, putting the gaming experience back into the gamer’s hands.
“It will be a worldwide console,” Bell added. “And we’re already in early talks with areas that are, let’s say, not particularly open to other vendors at this moment.”
The interest is high but is it high enough to compete with the biggest names in the industry? Surprisingly – yes! Sony – though the kings of exclusives – has seen a rapid decline in production. For good reason, mind you – focusing on quality over quantity is never a bad thing but it does leave a sort of vacuum behind.
With Xbox‘s Phil Spencer also taking Microsoft’s platform in a dramatically different direction with more JRPGs and a more narrative-driven direction, the Mad Dog may just be the inspiration needed to provide more unity. Microsoft, Valve, and Nintendo have already teamed up and Sony has proven that they can make changes as well (hello, 180 on cross-platform play), and the philosophy behind this new system could be just the nudge needed for a more cohesive market.
What do you think? Do you think the Mad Dog can truly compete? Join in on the conversation in the comment section below, or hit me up over on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy.
