Alright, the console market has hit 10 generations! (somehow) , so let us take a look at our contenders. Now I'm not getting into specs and all that technical crap, but I will give a brief overview of the hypothetical consoles.
[b]Orca[/b] (Nintendo): $199
By far the oldest company in the fray, this was Shigeru Miyamoto's final project before his retirement from Nintendo. Allegedly he took 3 years to perfect the console. Nintendo has been the steadiest and most stable of the console manufacturers as of yet
- The Orca was set to be accessible to everyone and yet still have value in the eyes of the hardcore gamer, as such it's titles are numerous and varied.
- Through the Virtual console, one can pick up classic Nintendo games and thousands of titles that were only released overseas, the vast majority of which are translated.
- All online services are free
- Backwards compatible with Wii U and 9th gen games
- Built in motion controls for use with certain games
Standard: matte or glossy White console, comes with 2 white controllers and 20 TB hard drive
Special editions:
- Deluxe Edition: glossy black console and controller, comes with 25 TB hard drive. $249
- Mario Bros. Edition: glossy Red or green console, two controllers, one red one green. Comes with 25 TB hard drove and the latest Mario title. $249
- Metroid Edition: Dark purple console and 2 controllers with Metroid logo engraved on the top of the console, comes with 45 TB hard drive, the latest Metroid game and Super Metroid preinstalled. $299
[b]Phoenix[/b] (Team Phoenix): $349
Not long after Microsoft's greed got the better of it and the company plummeted to the ground, a few of the members of Microsoft who forsaw the fall and left just before it happened got together with a few members of members of Certain Affinity, two guys from CDprojekt RED and a few VALVe expats and decided to create a console to fill the void that Xbox had left, vowing an oath to never make the mistakes of Microsoft and allow themselves to fall into greed and arrogance.
- The Pheonix is a beast of a machine, the most powerful so far in this generation.
- This console is seen as a haven for games with tons of content, such has RPGs, Open world FPS games and the like.
- All online services are free
- Built in motion sensor in console and controller for optional use in some games (can be disabled).
- Has the downloadable Firebird Development kit to allow Indie devs to develop their own games with the Firebird engine that look and play just as good (if not better) than their professional counterparts. (Yes, you can get paid for these games)
- Can link to a PC to use some services (such as the FDK) or provide a little extra processing power to spare for PC games.
- Can link to a tablet or nvidia Shield like device to play games on the go while the Phoenix does all the processing power.
Standard: Glossy or matte black console with red detailing. Comes with 35 TB hard drive and two black controllers with red detailing.
Special editions:
- Ash Edition - Unique Ash Black coloring on console and two packed in controllers, comes with 40 TB Hard drive. $399
- Firebird Edition - A customizable edition, Phoenix Logo engraved in shining (user requested) color on the top, glossy jet black surface, (user requested) colored lighting and two glossy black controllers with the Phoenix logo on them, comes with a 45 TB Hard drive. $449
- 343 Edition - Glossy midnight blue or black console with the likeness of 343 guilty spark engraved on the top (has a glowing blue eye), includes 2 Halo themed controllers, includes a 50 TB hard drive, a (highest possible) edition copy of the latest Halo game and a 8 inch statue of Master Chief. $499
[b]OriginBox[/b] (Electronic Arts) $399
Basically EA's attempt on Valve's Steambox, it allows you to play your Origin games on your television, but is also able to play it's own physical games. It was created after several of ex-Microsoft executives went to work at and took over some operations at Electronic Arts.
- The Originbox is very much on par with current high end gaming PCs
- All console titles published by EA are exclusive to the OriginBox console, and as previously stated, can play PC games that you bought on Origin.
- Most Online services require $60.00 payment every 6 months
- Requires an online authentication check ever 30 days, otherwise you are banned from Origin for 60 days.
- There is an option to pay an extra $10 to get an upcoming game a week early.
- Built in Motion controls for use with some games
- Can link to a tablet or nvidia Shield like device to play OriginBox and PC games on the go.
Standard: matte white console with Origin logo engraved in orange on the top, comes with 40 TB internal hard drive and one white/orange controller
[b]Trident[/b] (Valve) $349
The decendant of Valve's Steambox, this console can be integrated with any steam account to play Steam games on the television, but also has it's own library of console games.
- Specs are slightly above current high end gaming PCs
- Can seamless play steam games from your PC.
- All first party Online services are free, third party services may require payment.
- Optional motion controls built in for use in compatible games
- Can provide additional processing power to a PC should that be needed.
- Downloadable Source engine development kit application, allowing people to create and sell Source engine games, with quality just as good if not better than professionally made games.
Standard: Matte or Glossy charcoal grey console, comes with 2 controllers and 35 TB hard drive
Special Editions:
Half-Life Edition - Glossy Orange console with Half life logo engraved on the top, includes two half life themed controllers, 50 TB hard drive and a copy of Half Life 3. $399
[b]iPlay[/b]: $99
Apple's answer to an accessible gaming console. The iPlay is a tiny little thing that set out to make gaming easier for everyone in the household.
- Weakest spec wise of the five consoles
- Can wirelssly connect to any Apple device you own or any television you own.
- A haven for casual games and mobile phone games
- Can serve as a storage device for game data, can enhance the graphics and you can use an iphone or ipad as a controller or 2nd screen.
Standard: Small white console, comes with 500 GB internal hard drive and one white controller
So, which do you choose? or do you wish to skip out this generation?
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Phoenix, because CD Projekt.