Just this month, 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 a design that looks like a high-end PC and a promise for an out of this world gaming experience, it’s hard not to get at least a little swept up in the passionate excitement. With the initial designs being pretty flippin’ incredible, it looks like the CEO just did a 180 on the console’s aesthetic and honestly – it looks just as cool:
The public have spoken and we’ve listened. This is the design we’re going with. It might be slightly amended over time… Thanks all for your responses which have helped to guide us. pic.twitter.com/3dadUkz4Ue
— Ian Bell SMS Group (@bell_sms) January 11, 2019
“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’,” the CEO explained in an earlier interview. “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.”
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Bell added, “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.”
The interest in this new console is high but is it high enough to compete with the likes of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo? Interestingly enough – 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 about the latest re-design? Join in on the conversation in the comment section below, or hit me up over on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy.
