Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are the ‘Big Three’ dominant forces in the gaming market, but it took a while for Sony and Microsoft to catch up with Nintendo. During the 1980s that company’s competitors were fellow Japanese firms Sega and Atari, both of which it saw off. It was in the mid-1990s that Sony emerged as a major force with the launch of the first PlayStation console, with Microsoft arriving on the scene in 2001 with the Xbox. Handheld consoles like the N-Gage from Nokia and the Gizmondo from Tiger Telematics failed to break through and in recent years there have been few new consoles appearing to take on the big boys.
This could be about to change however, as a new console is on the way. The company behind it is Slightly Mad Studios and the news was broken by the CEO Ian Bell early last month. At the time of the announcement Bell shared ‘mock’ images of what this console, which is being called the Mad Box, is set to look like and it appears that it will be very mobile-friendly, with a handle for carrying it on the top and a lightweight body.
However, what has really got people within the industry buzzing is the statement by Bell that it will be more powerful than any other games console on the market. This is a huge claim and is already leading to speculation that it could be the new force in the games console sector. Of course we have heard this before as devices like the aforementioned N-Gage were also set to revolutionise console gaming, but there is a lot in the rumoured details of the Mad Box to get excited about.
For one thing Bell is stating that the technical specs will match those of the fastest PCs available in two years time and that it will provide 4K visual quality, with 90-frames-per-second when it comes to VR game-play. During the interview that he gave to Variety to announce the plans for the console Bell also indicated that most of the existing headsets for VR will be supported by the Mad Box.
What about the actual selection of games though, as this is an issue that has stopped other new consoles with strong specs from challenging Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. Well apparently all games developers will receive the cross-platform engine for the console, with Slightly Mad Studios then leaving the decision up to them, rather than seeking to provide them with financial benefits for favouring the Mad Box. Being able to get the very best games for the device will be surely determine whether it sinks or swims.
The Mad Box is scheduled to be launched around three years from now and the company is open about its desire to compete with the existing Big Three. The specs are exciting but we will have to wait to see if it lives up to the hype.
