Asus Has Secret Console "Better Than Wii"
The Eee Wii? Weee?
Not only is Asus trying to beat Apple in the innovative design department, it seems to be thinking of going after Nintendo in the video game console segment too.
According to comments made by Jonathan Tsang, the vice chairman of Asus, in an interview with the New York Times, the Taiwanese computer maker has ‘polished off’ a video game system it claims can rival the Wii.
“We have a product we think is better than the Wii,” Tsang said. “But the content is complicated.”
Asus claims to have developed a system that has controllers that reflect motion better than the Wii controllers (although the playing field may have changed with Wii MotionPlus or even Sony’s PlayStation Motion Controller).
Asus’s problem isn’t with the hardware, given its systems design and production know-how, but rather getting the software support. A console is only as good as the games it plays, and right now Asus doesn’t have the games.
“Sometimes it is a chicken-and-egg problem,” Tsang added. “We don’t have the chicken, so cannot have the egg.”
Tsang also revealed that Asus has an e-book reader ready as well, but faces the same problem of not having content providers.

Now that's just gold.
Now that's just gold.
Now THAT would be cool!
The problem, though, is that the rift between hardcore gamer and casual gamer would be blurred in the next few generations when the hardware cost and visual rendering overlap. For the immediate, it would be a benefit to both the hardcore and casual gamer. For the long run it could cause enough direct competition that Asus, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony would be more worried about market share than the game/hardware itself (thankfully Sony hasn't fallen into this step yet!). I'm all for 'reinventing' gaming, but Nintendo just takes away from those of us that want a more advanced environment.
And would infringe limitless patents and result in as many or more lawsuits.
Speaking of which. I've seen videos on Youtube (yeah, I know) about people playing 360 games on their PS3's. Now this is Youtube, so I do take it with a grain of salt, but this could be a reason why Sony removed the Emotion chip from the PS3. I can't guarantee this because I know nobody that has an Emotion chip version of the PS3, but it would make more sense than just saying 'It costs too much.'
Now, call me whatever, but I wouldn't mind if someone tried this out to see if it was real. Apparently all you do is select the 360 game to run as a DVD/movie instead of a game.
anyone with a decent computer can emulate a wii, emulating a 360 or PS3 would take a boatload of xeons and alot of time spend developing the software, especially for the cell processor.
Personally I think its good that a new company is stepping into the console market. I hope its more than just a system that "can rival the Wii" seeing as how the wii came out almost 3 years ago.
My only suggestion: Make sure Valve likes the architecture.
I wonder if ps3 could play crysis
(here comes the hate replies)
>: )
And no it wouldn't take a but load of xeons.. It would just take a lot of time developing the emulator. Which most don't do, as they don't have enough time to simply put into it, since their usually side projects. Even ps2 emulators aren't fully down.
To fuser how do you figure they have no hope? If they can get the games, make a console reasonably priced they have plenty of hope. They might not make mad profits, but they will still make enough to be worth it.
It seemed ludicrous that Sony would try to enter the console market, dominated by Nintendo and Sega. However they succeeded with the right strategy.
It seemed equally as nutty when Microsoft announced their entry, the Xbox. However they gained a loyal following in their first iteration, and took it mainstream with the 360.
Obviously it seems like insurmountable odds for Asus... but with the right hardware, the right software, and the drive of innovation or even the drive of success, they can make a big splash. All it would take is 3 or 4 "killer apps" to sell the hardware. The rest can come in time when software developers see a potential income avenue.
As an OEM player, they'd make a ton of money, and cut costs for whoever they build for, both of which are great for the consumer.
If that was true, it wouldnt be such a bitch to develop for the PS3. For what you're suggesting to work, the PS3 would need the ability to natively run the DirectX code that the Microsoft games are developed in. It doesnt, so it wont.