Are you ready to believe? Yes, the Steamboy is real, and it looks about ready for release this November with a fittingly confounding name: the SMACH Zero.
Fans continue to be skeptical the portable Valve machine is real, but everything that’s been revealed seems on the level so far. Just two months ago, they shared these specs, which aren’t out of place in a tablet, or even some smartphones:
· AMD embedded G-Series SoC "Steppe Eagle", with Jaguar-based CPU and GCN-based Radeon graphics.
· 4 GB RAM
· 32GB internal memory
· SD Card Slot
· USB OTG
· 5” 1280×720 touch screen
· Configurable tactile gamepads
· HDMI
· Wi-Fi
· Bluetooth
And finally, the PRO model will have 4G connectivity. Manufacturer SMACH also promises 1000 compatible Steam games at launch.
Now, fans could no longer dismiss the console as fake, as the company was at attendance at Gamescom. Granted, their display did not seem to have any working units or demos for any of the promised games.
Hello from #GC2015 #gamescom15. Having a great time here! Come and visit us #smachzero on Hall 10.1 pic.twitter.com/A9tVLX0AaF
— smachzero (@smachzero) August 8, 2015
I would personally not recommend you preorder the Smach Zero, but if you do want to, preorders will start this coming November 10, for 299 euros. They promise to eventually deliver the platform by Q4 2016.
To address skepticism for a minute, consider the Analogue NT. This is a $ 499 revision of the NES, with literal NES innards repurposed to be compatible with HD on modern displays. The NT is definitely not for everyone, as only hardcore NES collectors who want to keep playing the original carts would want it, but as this profile reveals, the market is there, and they are eager tfor a satisfactory product.
If it does turn out to be legitimate, the SMACH Zero is unlikely to compete strongly against the likes of the Nintendo 3DS or Vita, but it does not have to. A portable Steam console can do very well with a niche of gamers who were willing to pay through the roof for gaming PCs, and willing, even eager, to pay as much or more to bring their gaming on the road.
Are you interested in the SMACH Zero, or does it raise more red flags than interest? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
